Timeless
by FerrisWheel95
Summary: Sasuke and Naruto find themselves caught in Tobi's malicious attempt to rid himself prematurely of Naruto, which means the boys are sent back in time, where they confront their young selves, their young team mates and their feelings. SasuNaru, yaoi, SPOILERS UP TO LATEST CHAPTER!
1. Prologue

**_(THIS IS THE A/N FROM MY PREVIOUS ACCOUNT WHERE THIS PROLOUGE WAS UPLOADED. THE STORY WILL BE UPDATED ON THIS ACCOUNT FROM NOW ON AND CITYKYU WILL BE JUST A DISTANT MEMORY)_**

**Hey everyone, long time no see. Infact last time you saw me I was a whining 14-15 year old trying to write smut and complaining when she got bad reviews!**

**I'm so sorry! I love all my reviewers, even the haters, give me more attention! Ahah! Anyway, I have been on a distgutingly long hiatus, waiting for myself to be bettered in the almighty, powerful art that is Fanfiction and I think I've at least semi-arrived at that point! I am moving to a new account however, _ferriswheel95_ ! So I hope you all join me there, I am only posting this prolouge on here to give all my old reviewers, watchers and all that the heads up. Also to let you know that _I WILL UPDATE ALL TIME!_ Ahaha, yes, no more of this inactive business.**

**I will also probably redo some of my old stories, the ones with lots of interests in them, blahblahpointlesspointless.**

**Anyway, here you are, the beginning of a new chapter fic (which will be roughly around 9-11 chapters...) **

**Hope you enjoy!**

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**Full Summary: **Naruto is in the midst of his battle with Tobi, Itachi has dispelled Kabuto's jutsu and Sasuke is in awe of darkening sky and unimaginable amounts of chakra resonating from the forest. Sasuke and Naruto find themselves caught in Tobi's malicious attempt to rid himself prematurely of Naruto, which means the boys are sent back in time, where they confront themselves, their team mates and their feelings.

**Warnings: **Shonen-ai, yaoi (boy x boy), minimal cussing.

**Rated: **M (could possibly fall to T, depending on the situations)

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_Timeless_

By ferriswheel95/citykyu

Naruto's teeth were grit to their tightest, his chest was heavy with pain and his breathing was laboured. As far as he was concerned, everything hurt - his head, his body, legs, arms. The metallic taste of blood swam through his mouth and he spat it to the side, not once tearing his eyes from that of the Rinnegan and Sharigan bearing enemy. Kakashi lay far behind him, exhausted and collapsed and Gai was perched in a nearby tree, observing but useless with fatigue.

_Kurama… _Naruto tried, his new friend simply growling in response and shifting uncomfortably inside Naruto. Even the fox was worn. The man ahead chuckled and Naruto only glared harder, his eyes darkening into a livid, stormy blue. The orange mask worn by the man was cracked and Naruto guessed, no he _knew_, the man was drained as well. Tobi (Madara, no name… Naruto had no idea anymore, all he knew was that this man was a danger) lifted his hands, fingers stiff like claws as his chuckle escalated into a cackle the mimicked the clap of thunder that resonated through the sky eerily at the same moment.

"You can't beat me, Uzumaki Naruto…" He mocked, still shaking with the threat of more laughter, still gazing at the darkening sky, still insane from an unhealthy dose of power and control. Naruto dared to glance up as well, wondering where the clouds had come from and then decided it was not natural, it was _him._

"You're just nervous now! Realising how strong I am? Huh! Do you see now, you won't win! Not while I'm alive!" Naruto growled, shaking as well now but not with amusement, with anticipation and the anxiousness that came with the prospect of defeating this man. This man who threatened his village, his friends, his world. He was the one that freely manipulated his best friend and killed his mother and father. This man… _snorted._

"Perhaps…" his tone was sardonic but his statement true and Naruto knew this. Naruto could see there was a waver in the man's eyes, Tobi may not necessarily be losing but he definitely wasn't winning. A stale mate to that man had to be just as humiliating as a defeat. The blonde's faced creased with a small (by Naruto's standards) but confident grin, which was threatening to cross the lines to that of a cocky smirk.

"But you weren't always like this, were you..?" Tobi mused, exhaling a deep breathe, his body relaxing, preparing for something but Naruto couldn't tell what.

"Naruto! Don't get too smug just yet!" a deep voice called from behind him, Naruto glanced over his shoulder to see Kakashi had risen. He was weak, but standing and for that Naruto was grateful because suddenly he felt so much more support. He turned back to the man.

"No I wasn't! I worked hard to get where I am today! And you watch, when I'm Hokage, Sasuke will be returned to Konoha, the shinobi world will be at peace! I will obliterate the hatred that blackens so many hearts! And scum like you, won't exist!" He threw his arm up and brought it down, pointing determinedly to the man, his chest heaving with the struggle of being out of breath.

"If you kill me Naruto… What are you doing it for? To end the war, or to exact your own revenge? I did kill your parents after all…" the Sharingan glinted menacingly and Naruto's arm dropped, so did his heart. The storm in his cerulean eyes vanished, replaced with the fear at the prospect of exacting revenge, the idea that he will kill this man. Both of which, he had on no occasion done. While he was shaken, Tobi took this as an opportunity. The storm clouds in the sky circled his body and slowly began to descend towards the ground, the lighting stretching it's bright limbs across the dark sky.

"You may be all that right now, Uzumaki Naruto…" Tobi raised his hand towards the clouds. Naruto ignored the sickening feeling that bottomed in the pit of his stomach and mustered a Rasengan effortlessly in the palm of his hand.

"Naruto, wait!" he faintly heard Kakashi call, but the plea was ignored and his legs moved, breaking into a powerful, chakra enforced run.

* * *

Sasuke stood still, still mesmerised by Itachi's last words and the spot in which his brother just stood. He glanced up, the gap in the ceiling of the rock open wide to reveal the sky. His eyes narrowed, a suddenly very dark sky. Intrigued, the raven leapt to the top of the rock, surveying the area of forest that surrounded one side and desert and rock on the other. Faintly he could hear the battle cries of other shinobi, weak and pointless. He followed the darkness in the sky which was interestingly descending towards the ground at a point in the forest. He activated his Sharingan, sensing an unmeasurable amount of chakra surrounding that area and just as he went to take a step towards it, the clouds finally condensing to the single point within the forest.

"Shit!" He hissed, his eyes widening and throwing his arms up in a defensive block across his torso and face, peeking through the gap of his arms. A visible blue circle of concentrated chakra spread across the land, pushing the trees of the forest and breaking the rocks in the desert. Sasuke was thrown from his feet, skidding against rock but he didn't let himself fall for long, he sensed another wave and he climbed back to his feet, activating his Sharingan and hopefully activating the Susano before the second wave hit. Unluckily for the Uchiha, another surge of chakra dispelled from the same spot, this time red in colour. It not only pushed the trees and broke the rocks, it laid them flat and turned them to sand. Sasuke felt his chest assaulted by the red energy, his breath knocked from him, his consciousness begrudgingly slipping. As darkness closed on the raven he heard familiar voices echo in his dark consciousness, one was that of Tobi, understandable. Second however was a voice he never wanted to be mentally plagued by again.

"_You may be all that right now, Uzumaki Naruto…"_

"_Rasengan!"_

"_But let's see how cocky you are in the past, let's see you defeat me then!"_

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**_There you go! :) First story for this account! Please rate, review and follow! And remember, this story will by updated HERE from now on!_**


	2. Chapter 1

**Mah! Welcome back for the first chapter of Timeless! I've having tonnes of fun writing this, so I'm hoping you're enjoying reading in. Honestly, I would never had written this if I had found something similar but theres nothing - and if there is, I haven't come across it... (So if you have, please send my a message with it!).**

**But yeah, I always wanted to see the young Naruto character's reactions if they realised just how strong they were when they were older, how they would react to the current chaos the shinobi world is in. I wanted to see how they'd react to knowing just how strong and mature Naruto has become and the fact that Sasuke ran off and is basically... Yuck evil! Ugh!**

**Anyway, onto the story!**

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_Timeless_

_by ferriswheel95_

Sasuke's head was killing him, that was the first thing he knew. Before he opened his eyes, before he moved a muscle, he knew he had a headache as if he'd been punched square in the face by Tsunade herself. He resisted the urge to groan as he let his eyes flutter open, light blinding him for a few moments and the world blurry until he pushed himself up, sitting and taking in his surroundings.

"Where am I…" He dared to speak, his throat croaky as if it had been unused. Looking round he noticed he was in a forest, the light filtered by the leaves of the healthy trees that hung heavy above him. Standing, he checked himself for injuries and amazingly, none so far. The raven, cautious as ever activated his Sharingan, scanning the area once more.

"This place…" He muttered, stepping forward, pushing through the bushes until he came upon a sunny clearing. He took a sharp intake of breath, shocked at what – no, _where, _he was. In the middle of the clearing stood three thick stumps which were obviously put there purposefully, for the purpose of training.

"How'd I..?" He breathed out, letting himself be overcome by the sheer shock of the situation. Not only was he sure Konoha was practically destroyed but he was also sure that he was as far away from Konoha as his feet would take him, definitely far enough away that even if he was thrown by the attack it certainly wouldn't have him land here. He ran his hands across his chest to check for marks, bruises, making sure he definitely wasn't thrown by that wave of chakra.

_Wait… Chakra _he mentally concluded, letting his eyes slide closed to try and re-enact his last moments of mindfulness before he was knocked unconscious. There was Itachi, and then there wasn't… He grimaced at this thought. There was that copious amount of chakra coming from the clouds, then the first energy wave of blue chakra, then the red one.

_Red chakra._

"Naruto…" Sasuke growled, his fist clenching so tightly that the tree trunk he leant on crumbled beneath his grip. He was in Konoha, of course it was something to do with Naruto! Glaring at the three stumps, Sasuke thought harder, squeezing his eyes more tightly.

_Rasengan! _He knew he wasn't hearing things, he didn't imagine that, sure he had heard it plenty of times in his short seventeen years of life that he could've basically imagined it from a memory but this time was different. Naruto was definitely the angriest Sasuke had ever heard him.

"Tobi…" Sasuke breathed out, his eyes gradually opening and his body deflating. Was Naruto fighting Tobi? Was that the cause of those amounts of chakra? It was certainly possible, Naruto did have an astonishingly large amount of chakra (not that Sasuke would admit it to Naruto in fear of boosting the idiot's ego) but it was thanks to that damned fox, nonetheless, could he really take on Tobi? The raven shook his head.

"Like I care…" He grunted and moved his hand down so his fingertips brushed the cold metal of his sword, allowing himself to be taken from his thoughts.

_But let's see how cocky you are in the past, let's see you defeat me then! _

Sasuke froze and his eyes widened. A jutsu that time travelled, maybe? Sasuke was sure that even Orochimaru was unaware of such a power, Sasuke certainly had no idea. Though anything seemed possible lately, this war definitely brought out the most bizarre of jutsu.

"Naruto… What did you get me into?" He whispered, staring at the three stumps that were bathed generously in sunlight.

* * *

"Damn it…" Naruto breathed, leaning against a tree, breathing heavy and holding his side. He was hurt, he was hurt bad. The blonde wasn't near lucky enough like Sasuke to pass through the passage of time unharmed.

"Damn it!" He growled again, frustrated with the pain, so much so he punched the trunk of the tree and breaking off a good part. He guessed he was not in the village, rather the forest that surrounded it but he was definitely back in time, he gathered that from travelling the stream with Tobi. He closed his eyes and calmed himself, he had to think straight to get through this and not let himself become overcome by the pain or frustration. Firstly he knew the young him was targeted by the masked man but at the same time, he knew Tobi would need time to recover from the last Rasengan Naruto managed to squeeze in before being sucked in by the portal. Unfortunately, his attack was countered by a kunai to the side, the same side that was currently gaping, bleeding and being… Well generally a pain in the side.

"Kurama…" He spoke aloud, trying to gain the fox's attention. The nine-tails simply stirred in weak recognition.

"Kurama…" Naruto tried again, this time sadder with the realisation that the demon would be completely drained and realising that even they needed their rest. He sighed, not having to heal by himself ever before.

"I've just got to get to the gates…" He nodded, setting the goal. He couldn't pass out yet, he needed to be noticed and he needed to see the Hokage, whichever one it may be in accordance with the time frame. As he wearily lifted his leg to take the first agonising step, the faint thump of someone hoping amongst the trees fixed Naruto's attention. He was hoping it was an ally of the village but, boy, was he wrong. Cobalt eyes widened incredibly as they met with equally wide but far more pissed onyx ones. The tree hopper stopped immediately, turning direction towards his former blonde haired team mate.

"Sasuke!" Naruto's voice as usual was all too hopeful, his face all too bright at the arrival of his former team mate. His glee was interrupted by a swift, angry kick to the chest which sent the blonde skidding along the forest floor.

"What did you do, Naruto! Huh! Where the hell are we!" Sasuke fumed, drawing his katana and storming towards Naruto.

"This isn't my fault!" Naruto wheezed in defence, winded from the blow. The blade glinted as it caught the filtered light through the trees and blinded Naruto for a moment before he realised it was pressed against his neck, Sasuke towering over him with the usual scowl.

"Then who's is it?" The raven's voice was dangerously low. Naruto, panting and hurt, took a second to form the words in his head so he could explain without too many questions that could potentially aggravate Sasuke further.

_Even more of bastard when he's pissed… _Naruto mentally huffed.

"Look, I don't understand the situation completely as far as specifics go – " The blonde started, "but basically, I was fighting that creepy dude in the orange mask! I was beating him and I guess that just didn't go down too well with him! Because he got mad and summoned these really dark clouds like a storm –"

_Those were what I saw… _Sasuke thought.

"He basically said if he can't beat as I am now, then he'll have to do it in the past when I'm weaker to do it! I'm not sure if I was meant to, but when charged him with a Rasengan I got caught in the jutsu as well. But I hit him, hopefully I hurt him real bad! Ah… But he got me with a kunai –" Naruto took a breath the raise his now crimson hand from the wound on his side and Sasuke let his eyes wander to the blood but only for a second.

"And here we are…" He finished, looking as determined as ever. A brief silence fell between the two, comfortable as both thought.

"Wait!" he suddenly shouted, catching Sasuke off guard and making him taking a shocked step back.

"It should be 'here I am' not 'here we are'! What are you doing here!" Naruto frowned, suddenly confused. Poor thing, it took a decent amount of effort for him to work it all out in the first place and that was when it was just him.

"I think… I think I was just in range of the attack" Sasuke muttered, sliding his sword into its sheath with a soft metal '_click_'. Naruto couldn't help but stare, his best friend suddenly looked calmer, the rage and hatred that usually pooled in his dark eyes was suddenly replaced with a steely confusion.

"How do we get back?" Sasuke snapped Naruto from his contemplations and Naruto just shook his head.

"The hell if I know –" He grunted and looked down to his still open wound.

"All I know is that I can't let him kill me Sasuke… You know that right?" The blonde breathed, catching Sasuke's eyes with his, an intense match of the resilient stares. Naruto wasn't one to brag about his power but finally he had come to realise that he was a great forced to be reckoned with, he had defeated so many powerful and even legendary enemies and with his new bond with the nine-tails, he knew his power could only increase. He also knew that he had to stop the war and he couldn't do that if he was dead right? Two minutes had passed and still no answer from Sasuke, so Naruto decided to pry.

"Sas –"

"No, I don't know that _Naruto_" Sasuke snapped, venom as he spoke Naruto's name. He turned his back and bent at the knees in prep to leap off.

"I talked to Itachi, Sasuke!" Sasuke froze, still bent at the knees before straightening himself.

"You can talk to him again here –"

"I don't need too…" Sasuke muttered, already conversing with his brother.

"Because you already have, right? But it was quick, you can talk to him longer now." Naruto offered, not sure what he was trying to accomplish, saying all this wasn't going to get Sasuke help him but he guessed he just wanted his friend to finally have peace of mind, the raven still looked so heavy and confused. They were silent again, comfortable as ever and Naruto pushed himself shakily to his feet.

"We can't change the future, it could turn out bad… Really bad" Sasuke's voice was vacant, he was deep in thought. The situation was even messing with the great Uchiha. Naruto nodded in understand and Sasuke peeked over his shoulder, surprised he didn't have to explain why.

"Neither of us would be as strong as we are now – If the slightest thing happens differently…"

"Then we're both screwed" Naruto grinned in conclusion, knowing what this meant.

"Ah, So I guess that means, if I die…" Naruto pretended to ponder, bringing a finger to his chin to tap. Sasuke sighed and ran his hand through his hair. Naruto knew what it meant, Sasuke knew what it meant but he'd be damned if he wasn't going to complain about it.

"Why am I always saving your ass, idiot!" Sasuke hissed as he span on his heels and stormed towards Naruto again, the blonde grinning as wide and cocky as ever.

"I believe for the last three years I've been trying to save _your_ ass, teme!" Naruto poked the Uchiha's chest triumphantly, only to have his hand smacked away and the grin fall from his face into seriousness. He just got caught up in the moment, he didn't mean to reminisce with old actions.

"This isn't us rekindling a bond _Naruto_ –" his words were harsh and his tone icy, Naruto didn't falter though.

"This is me confirming my existance and my strength" Naruto could only nod, had he expected anything more… Now _want_ was a different word.

"Alright… Can we just –" his mouth hung and words danced around in his head as he tried to find the rights ones. Finally his moth closed, his expression thoughtful.

"Can we just get to the gate before I bleed out…" He grunted, turning his head to the side with a pout and dusted pink cheeks. It was hard to admit weakness to Sasuke. The raven simply rolled his eyes before he nodded.

_Never thought I'd walk into Konoha again… _His inner turmoil rumbled, but he simply closed his eyes.

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**Another chapter will be up tomorrow, or the next day! Hope you enjoyed, R&R!**


	3. Chapter 2

**Sooo, originally the second chapter was going to be longer and they met themselves in it but... It was 17 pages in word and I don't know about any of you but I hate reading super-mega long chapters... It gives me a headache. So let's say I split them up for my own selfishness, so I'm able to read my own work.**

**Here you are! The latest installment!**

* * *

_Timeless_

_by ferriswheel95_

"Well it's because you're so reckless" a young Sakura lectured the blonde boy that was beaten up and exhausted, his arm slung over the shoulders of his pinkette team mate and his other over the shoulders of a young and bored looking Sasuke.

"Geez… You're so much trouble" The raven chimed in, smirking. Naruto grunted, hearing the arrogance in Sasuke's tone. He pushed himself from his team, his temper flared and his fists balled.

"Sasuke!" He cried, the declaration of the beginnings of another fight. Just as he was about to pounce, an arm shot across his torso to block him from attacking. He followed the arm until he locked gazes with very heated emerald eyes.

"If you act up any more, I'll finish you" She didn't shout but she didn't need to, her voice was so low it rasped and her raised fist was more of a threat than any screeching could ever be.

"Mmm… Team work hasn't been good lately…" A defeated Kakashi mused from behind his students, solemn at the lack of progress. Ever since they had returned from the land of waves mission, Sasuke and Naruto were getting along worse than ever. Naruto constantly kicked and screamed about how much of an arrogant bastard Sasuke was and was always ready to pounce into a full blown fist fight, not that Sakura or Kakashi let it that far yet.

"That's right! That's right!" Naruto raised his fist to the retreating back of the Uchiha.

"Sasuke, you're to blame for the poor team work! You're always looking for attention!" He professed in addition, Kakashi rolled his eyes and as did Sasuke.

"That's you, you idiot" the raven grunted, his steps not faltering once as he did so, then he continued.

"If you don't want to owe me big time –" this time he stopped and looked back over his shoulder, his dark eyes smouldering with purpose.

"You just have to become stronger than me" for a second Naruto could only gape, his eyes wide before they were reduced to a livid scowl. A thick silence befell the entire team as Sasuke and Naruto's stares interlocked, Sakura could only stand by because who was she kidding, if these two really did break out into a fight she definitely wasn't going to be able to pull them apart.

_It seems like they're getting along worse than before..._ She thought, nervous from the heavy tension that was rising from the other two. Finally Sasuke's expression shifted slightly, his glare intensifying as he enveloped himself deeper in thought.

_Shit… This is so frustrating!_ His mind snarled as he imagine, no remembered, the mask of Haku and just how strong Haku himself had been. After all, Sasuke couldn't defeat him – Yet Naruto…

_There are plenty of shinobi out there that are stronger than I am! Always making me go on these kinds of lame missions… _His teeth grit together tightly, becoming uncomfortable but even the hawk that flew and squawked above all three of them wasn't enough to gain their attention. Their Sensei however…

"Well then, perhaps we should disperse – I do need to submit my report about the mission after all." He turned to his team, only acknowledged by Sakura.

"Okay, I'm going home then" Sasuke sighed, free from the headache that was a staring contest with Naruto. He turned again, his sandals clapping against the stone of the path. If he was quick enough then maybe, just maybe he could… –

"Oh! Hey!"

No such luck.

"Sasuke-kun! Wait for me!" Sakura chimed as she hurried after her 'beloved'. Naruto deflated as he watched the receding backs of the two, his stomach dropped when she caught up to Sasuke but as usual, the blonde could only watch.

"Hey, uhm, how about… Why don't you and I… Why don't we work on improving our teamwork together!" The girl fidgeted and she didn't bother to hide her blush, hopefully it gave away her ulterior motives, hopefully Sasuke understood that she didn't want to simply work on their team work, she wanted to work on them. Though she didn't count on Sasuke's bad mood.

"You're just like Naruto" he said, calm and effortless as always. He wasn't concerned about Sakura's feelings, in fact he wasn't concerned about anyones. All the young Sasuke was concerned about was getting stronger and lately, that didn't seem like it was going to happen if he kept fooling around with these two.

Sakura however, was obviously concerned with other things.

_Just like Naruto! _Her inner-self cried, holding up the words as if they were a boulder that was ready to crush the actual Sakura.

"If you have time to spend on me, why don't you use it to practice nin-jutsu! To tell you frankly, your abilities are less than Naruto's!"

_Less than Naruto's… Less than Naruto's… _Sasuke's voice rang in her head, the stone getting heavier and heavier each time with the humiliation of Sasuke's words. As if nothing was spoken between the two, Sasuke turned again and headed off.

_That's right… It's always that way for me during every mission, I'll never be able to really do anything at all!_

"Sakura-chan! Forget Sasuke and let's practice together!" Naruto sounded from behind her. Sakura could only shake and grit her teeth, still mortified by Sasuke's words, it only made her want to hit Naruto. Kakashi disappeared in a cloud of white smoke, no longer seeing a reason to stay.

"Huh?" Naruto turned, alarmed by his teacher's sudden dissapearence. He blinked a bit before he grinned.

_Sensei disappeared… Was he being thoughtful? _ Naruto wondered, his mind still ever present with his suggestion of alone time with Sakura. Endless oppurtunities bounced in his head and a broke into a small smile of excitement before he was torn from his thoughts by a suspicious rustling behind him. He looked over his shoulder again and glared at the offensive 'camouflaged rock' that shuffled behind him. There were two dark holes in the front , clearly for eyes and the structure was square and bulky and by the sounds, it was made from cardboard.

"Pretending to be… A rock?" he muttered, thoroughly confused.

* * *

"Don't you dare pass out on me Naruto!" Sasuke jeered, feeling like he was practically dragging the blonde by the arm that was draped over his shoulder.

"I'm not going to pass out asshole! I'm trying to talk to Kurama!" Naruto snapped back, opening his in which he had closed for concentration.

"Kurama? You mean the Kyuubi?" Sasuke frowned, wondering when Naruto had given his pet a name. The blonde just nodded.

"His name is Kurama –" he corrected "and so far we've discussed the problems that could unveil themselves because of this little… Whatever you want to call this" he sighed.

"Problems, such as?" Sasuke raised his eyebrows as he saw the gates come into view.

"We can't give away that you left, we have to keep the future completely hidden…" Naruto frowned, as if his own words stung. Sure, he wanted to change a few things, like – Oh I don't know, his best friend leaving him. However, things had to remain the same, nothing would pan out right if it didn't.

"Can't we just erase their memories afterwards..?" Sasuke muttered which earnt him a neck snap from Naruto, blue eyes stared at him widely and stunned.

"You can do that?" but just as Sasuke opened his mouth to tell him that, no, he actually couldn't, he was distracted by a distant voice.

"Who goes there?" one of the Chunin guards on duty called calmly as the two finally approached the gates.

"This is going to be a long explanation…" Naruto muttered to his temporary partner under his breath.

"Wait… You're Konoha shinobi? I wasn't informed of any returning missions" the man spoke again, a hand on his hip while the other scratched his head in thought. Sasuke could only roll his eyes, it was no wonder the village was infiltrated and attacked so easily during the Chunin exams all those years ago. Sasuke had determined that this man was grossly incompetent, Naruto and himself were obviously foreign of some aspect and here the guard was standing dumbfounded and scratching his head.

"We are Konoha shinobi… But we're not returning from a mission and I'm not sure how to explain this to a total stranger without seeming either like an enemy or insane… You see –" Naruto's ramblings began. Sasuke glanced down to Naruto's side, wondering how the blonde was so calm as he practically bled out onto his hand when help was just beyond those close walls.

Onyx eyes ran along the patterns of the open gates, Sasuke watched a trio of young looking ninja approach the greeting stand that stood just inside the walls that were not too far away. They seemed to be going through some papers and showing their identification cards, Sasuke could tell they weren't ninja of Konoha. Which meant only one thing to him.

The Chunin exams were taking place.

"Iruka!" A screech broke Sasuke from his inspections and his head snapped up to the guard that was wide eyed and running towards the man behind the stand, Naruto looked distgustingly nervous and Sasuke could idly notice that his skin paled. Iruka, who proved to be the man sitting in the stand, shot up from his seat and hurried to his partner.

"What's going on!" Their old sensei frowned, standing beside his companion.

"They're claiming they're from the future! Something about a time travel jutsu! This one –" he pointed to Naruto, "says that this is Sasuke Uchiha and he is –"

"Naruto..?" Iruka interjected, looking dumbfounded. Naruto gave his old sensei a weak grin.

"Y-Yeah Iruka-sensei, it's me…" And suddenly Naruto was a lot heavier and Sasuke had to snake two arms around him for support.

"Y-You're hurt…" Iruka whispered, obviously still trying to wrap his head around it. Sasuke guessed that Naruto looked enough like an older version of himself to the man that he had to at least consider the possibility that they were indeed from the future.

"Quick, get him to the hospital!" Iruka's voice suddenly boomed and the other guard only gawked at Iruka.

"Y-You believe him!" he yelped, shocked. Iruka only nodded, his face stern and determined and his mind obviously made up.

"I had heard of time travelling jutsus… Just right now, they're incomplete. Also, if they were enemies then they would try a much more subtle approach of infiltration, especially at the time of the Chunin exams…"

_I knew it_. Sasuke smirked, mentally patting himself on the back for his remarkable analytical skills.

"Besides, I have a feeling I'd know Naruto anywhere" Iruka smiled and Naruto couldn't help but grin broadly. Finally the man nodded and stepped under Naruto's other arm so they were either side of the blonde and slowly they began walking to and past the gates.

Walking the streets of Konoha was weird for Sasuke, mostly because it hadn't changed a single bit. Of course under the circumstances it wouldn't have, it was the same old Konohagakure that he remembered, literally. Naruto's eyes seemed to light up, he was weak but he still managed to have that bright sparkle of adoration in his eyes as he surveyed the old streets of Konoha. Sasuke could only guess that nostalgic look on Naruto's face was because the streets of Konoha had aged and changed over the years, but then the raven remembered… The streets were destroyed during the other's fight with Pein.

"So guessing from the wound on your side, you didn't have an easy trip here" Iruka pried and Naruto only shook his head. I could tell he was already going to be a big mouth.

"No, I was fighting this guy… This really, really powerful guy and I guess he was made because he was beating me, so he summoned the time jutsu and I'm pretty sure he's targeting the young me, the me he can beat…" Iruka only nodded as if this was perfectly normal, as if a casual visit from his older student from the future was a fortnightly occurrence.

"_Naruto…_" Sasuke finally warned, worrying about the blonde divulging too much information about the future.

"Ma, I'm sure it's fine Sasuke, what exactly is going to change by Iruka-sensei knowing this?" He grinned again before continuing.

"I charged him with a Rasengan –"

"Rasengan..?" Iruka blinked and Naruto could only gape at his former teacher.

"Just how far back are we!" Naruto whined as he turned to Sasuke who only shrugged, looking bored.

"Whose Hokage!" Naruto suddenly stumbled and Sasuke could only recognise that spark of excitement.

"The Third, Naruto…" Iruka frowned and Sasuke held onto the blonde's arm to keep him contained.

"Naruto, we can't just waltz around here claiming we're from the future, not everyone is going to be as understanding as Iruka, like take… _Him_, for example" Sasuke gestured to the other man holding onto Naruto, who simply huffed and turned his nose up. Iruka could only nod in agreement.

"We'll get you fixed up and then we'll take you to see Hokage-sama…" this made Naruto frown.

"I have to protect my friends as soon as possible" Naruto argued and all four of them continued to walk again.

"Friends? Naruto, I thought it was only you who needed guarding" Sasuke growled, knowing that this was going to turn out to be a much bigger job then what was originally let on. He scoffed mentally at his ignorance.

_Of course it was going to be a big job, I'm dealing with Naruto here!_

"Yeah, I know. But then talking about how the future could be changed so easily and stuff… It just made me think, like… If I lost you or Sakura-chan really early on or something then that alters everything too! Maybe he won't just go after me!" The blonde puffed his cheeks and his eye brows knitted together when he gave the raven a small glare, as if daring him to argue his logic.

Sasuke didn't care to argue nor did he have the time, besides the idiot actually made sense for once. He was doing that a lot more often lately… It was unnerving him. A silence befell them as they walked, Naruto could sense that Iruka was itching to ask more questions but kept his lips sealed with the fear of rejection. The silence however was ruined by the squawk of a hawk that circled above. Iruka and the other man stopped, which in turn made Naruto and Sasuke do so as well.

"That's…" Naruto began and Iruka only nodded.

"A meeting, it'll be about the nominations for the Chunin exams" He explained and both Naruto and Sasuke nodded in return.

"Let's get you too that hospital quick, so I can explain the situation to them" and again a duo of agreeing nods. They walked again for the last time until they reached the hospital.

* * *

**So I'm sorry that it ended off in an... Odd spot. But like I said, split the chapter. R&R!**


	4. Chapter 3

**Sorry for the late chapter guys! I'm back at school, which means I'm busy, I'll try not too leave it for so long next time. **

**O****h and I haven't really had the time to read over this half, so Im sorry for any stupid mistakes, I'll be sure to fix them when I have the time, feel free to point them out in reviews.**

* * *

_Timeless_

_by ferriswheel95_

Naruto sat on the edge of the hospital bed, the only sound in the room was the ticking of the clock on the wall. Walls which were the off white colour of every hospital, but the room was by no means cramped or dim, the window was open to the bright day outside and the breeze from it blew the blue curtains that hung around the sill. Sasuke sat in front of him on the seat, eyes closed and arms crossed across his chest, there was a scowl on his face and Naruto titled his head curiously, wondering how Sasuke could possibly not want to look out the window instead of encasing himself in the darkness of his closed eyes. Then Naruto thought a little harder.

"Na, I'm not happy to be in this situation either asshole…" Naruto tried softly, pouting slightly as turned his head to the side and glaring at the _annoyingly loud_ clock! Sasuke's eyes finally cracked up and the glare was now for Naruto. His fists clenched tightly and he grit his teeth behind his closed, thin lined lips.

"Yes, but it's _your_ fault we're here. So I have more of a right to be pissed about this than you!" He snarled angrily, standing and starting to pace again. He was doing it earlier while Naruto was being patched up with a large gauze and starch bandage that now wrapped around his lower torso, where the gash was in his side, and up over his shoulder for support. Then back down, then around again…

"Sasuke!" Naruto clicked his fingers to break the other from whatever trance he had gotten himself into. Sasuke just shook his head and sighed, bringing his arms up again to cross over his chest. At that point the door opened with a click and both boys looked up to be greeted by two very familiar faces. Naruto's eyes sparkled with excitement, even more so than when he met with Iruka at the gate.

"Old man…" He whispered, willing his eyes to stop watering. Even Sasuke was feeling the sudden nostalgia that suddenly drowned the small clinic room. Sarutobi's eyes crinkled with a small smile as he watched Naruto's glee morph the blonde's face into his signature grin.

"Old man!" Naruto yelled this time and in an instant he was off the bed and dashing towards the Hokage. In the blur of excitement, Sasuke could vaguely make out the tears that pooled in the bottom of Naruto's eyes and he couldn't help but think –

_Weak…_

Strong arms wrapped around Sarubtobi's neck for a warm hug and Naruto's head hung over the man's shoulder, who was now shorter than the ever growing blonde mess.

"Naruto...?" The man spoke, not expecting such an emotional reception and judging by Iruka's wide eyes, neither did he. After all, the brunette received no hug or tears of joy. Finally Naruto stepped back and rubbed at the tears with the back of his forearm then blinked away the rest, he gave one small smile.

"I've missed you…" He breathed out and in a blur Sasuke was next to him, covering Naruto's _big_ mouth with his hand.

"Idiot!" Sasuke growled, a threat low in his throat. For a few moments, Naruto's eyes were wide with confusion before his mind finally clicked, just at the third began to chuckle.

"I see I must have passed by your time then..?" He pried and Sasuke groaned in defeat as he stepped back and ran a hand through his hair, closing his eyes while Naruto panicked. The blonde began spluttering excuses and shaking his head in denial, hands up defensively. The old man chuckled again, while Iruka behind him simply seemed troubled.

"If you're going to be such an idiot about this shit, then we're going back right now!" Sasuke bit out, sounding like the angry parent with the screaming at their kid, who is throwing a tantrum, in the grocery store. Naruto's eyes silently pleaded to Sasuke that it was a mistake and the third just seemed bemused.

"You two haven't changed…" Sarutobi breathed, with almost what seemed like relief? Naruto and Sasuke both froze to stare at the old man… Well, one stare and one glare. Naruto's eyes darkened considerably, his heart clenching at the realisation that no, they have changed, completely. Neither of them were the same people anymore and for Naruto, that hurt. He wanted his best friend back after all, he wanted all his strength but without the pain that drove it to him. But that was selfish and Naruto knew there would have been no other way. Sasuke's thoughts wandered to his leaving of the village and training with Orochimaru, but his eyes and expression gave none of his discomfort away.

"Ah! We totally have! I'm way stronger now!" Naruto grinned, straightening himself up to accentuate his chest, he wasn't about to let himself be engrossed by depressing thoughts. Sasuke simply rolled his eyes and Iruka could be heard scoffing from behind the Hokage.

"What!" Naruto whined, hurt by his former teacher's obvious arrogance, or so that's how Naruto saw it.

"Those who are showy are often the weakest" he clipped out and Naruto could only huff and keep his mouth shut, because frankly if only this Iruka knew. Finally it was Sasuke's turn, recovered from the earlier remark about his lack of change by the Hokage.

"Why do you believe we're from the future?" He asked stoically, eyes of judgement rested upon the small (but Sasuke knew, all too powerful) man. Said man was able to stare back with an old and wise intensity that matched the Uchiha's.

"Because I was the one who created the jutsu" he countered and Naruto gave a small gasp, in what Sasuke could only guess, was delight.

"Then you can help us get back!" His eyes lightened again. Sarutobi frowned with thought before sighing, he nodded but looked worried.

"What?" Sasuke pressed, his own frown deepening, the Hokage's obvious worry reflecting and Uchiha's own sentiments and Naruto's grin faltered dramatically, a serious look on his face now.

"You'd need a tremendous amount of chakra, I would have to give up all of mine and consequently… I'd die, purely from exhaustion. The one flaw…" He explained and each time Naruto's eyes got darker and he sat on the bed again, deflated and tired.

Sasuke scoffed, "_you say 'one flaw' like it's minute_".

"Ma, I'm sure we'll get back when we can get back!" Naruto grinned again, his hopefulness radiating throughout the room and oddly enough, calming Sasuke. The raven frowned, disturbed by his response to Naruto's optimism but for some reason, Sasuke could see that it wasn't anything close to how pure it was as when they were children, it became more and more forced as they aged.

"Sasuke!" Naruto waved a hand in front of the obviously dazed Sasuke. Said boy blinked a couple of times before he focused on Naruto and Iruka who stood a few paces behind him.

"What?" Sasuke snapped, stepping back from Naruto who was leaned in entirely too close for Sasuke's comfort. He wasn't use to Naruto yet, he was good at acting, acting like they were still friends for the sake of his successful future but to actually rekindle their bond was out of the question. The very notion of it made Sasuke wholly uncomfortable, even the other's smell was the same and Sasuke chocked on it. Naruto flinched at Sasuke's defensiveness, so obviously while Sasuke wasn't used to being close to Naruto, Naruto wasn't used to not being close to him. Iruka watched from behind, disturbed by the sudden tension that suffocated the room.

"I was going to say, since you obviously tuned out, that the Hokage will have us watch over ourselves and the others while disguised –" He held out an anbu mask to Sasuke who just took it casually.

"And we wait… For him" Naruto's obvious contempt for Tobi was alarming to both parties in the room, neither of them experiencing such a black hate coming from the usually forgiving blonde.

"The others… Who would be most important to keep an eye on?" Sasuke asked. Naruto had turned towards the bed to grab his black t-shirt that hung over the edge along with his jacket. He shrugged both of them on slowly and Sasuke could tell that he wasn't being ignored, Naruto was thinking.

"Sakura-chan… Obviously" he muttered through lips that were pursed with concentration. Sasuke's gut twisted at the name, his own disdain for the pinkette pulsating thickly through the room. Naruto chose to ignore it, Iruka just scowled, feeling left out and continuingly worried with each interaction between the two and each unknowing revelation of what befell the future. Sasuke nodded for the other two continue.

Naruto rose a fist and began to count the names on his fingers, "Gaara, Shika, Kiba, Hinata, Kakashi-sensei…" he paused. Sasuke lifted his eyebrows, curious before Naruto looked not only worried but…

_Frightened._

"What Naruto?" Iruka asked as he stepped towards the blonde, mirroring Sasuke's uneasiness.

"The village…" Naruto breathed quietly, his features relaxed but his eyes still shimmered with fear as he stepped over to the window and looked out.

"We will have to protect this entire village if we truly want to stop him from altering the future" he said from the window, back turned to the two. A loud crack alarmed Iruka and Naruto, making them both jumped. They turned to Sasuke, whose fist lay on the very cracked wall, his eyes burning red.

"Naruto! Stop making things difficult! First you say it's only to protect our lives, now it's everyone! Do you really think I'm up for protecting this god forsaken village!" He took an angry step forward and Naruto mimicked him.

"What do you want Sasuke! Do you want him to kill both of us when we're thirteen! Do you want him to do something that could alter our lives forever! Because I'm telling you, if things had gone any differently then… Then we wouldn't be who we are today! And you know what, through everything we've been through –"

"You still talk too much." Sasuke growled, cutting Naruto off. Hurt flashed through Naruto's eyes but Sasuke ignored it, he'd seen it so often and he'd heard it all before.

"I thought you would've wanted to change our lives, Naruto?" He grit out and Naruto just shook his head slowly.

"If anything had gone differently…" his hand travelled down and rested on his stomach, above the seal. "If anything, then… Then I wouldn't be so strong, neither would you and while I hate, _I absolutely hate_, how things are now, everyone still has a long way to go" Iruka's breath caught in his throat as he watched Naruto bear such wisdom on the usually wiser Uchiha. The two just glared at eachother, neither moving with the unsaid threat of a fist fight falling on top of them. Of course though, it wouldn't be a simple fist fight between these two if they let themselves be bettered by their rage towards eachother.

"I'm not making it difficult, I'm telling you, that if he comes after me and destroys the village on the way then I will stop him" Naruto sliced through the silence before fixing his mask on and storming out the door. Sasuke and Iruka stood eerily still before the raven let out a shaky breath and leaning against the wall.

"You two… You two aren't alright are you? Sasuke… What exactly happened in three years?" Iruka pressed and Sasuke only looked up at him with still eyes and thinned, closed lips.


	5. Chapter 4

**Man! You guys are great reviewers! I love long reviews with opinions like the ones I'm getting! It's really an awesome feeling when you guys write like; Oh! How could Sasuke do this! I hope he does this! I wonder if he'll do this! He should do this! I hate him for this!**

**It's just like... Cha! Awesome! Thankyou so much, please keep them up, they're the reason this chapter is up so quickly.**

**Speaking of which; I wrote and editted late tonight, so I might've missed a few mistake, I'm sorry if I had... I hope they don't ruin the story. This chapter is mostly a scene from the anime... Just revised! Ha!**

**Well on to the story!**

* * *

_Timeless_

_by ferriswheel95_

"Stupid Sasuke! Stupid time travelling jutsu! Stupid, _stupid _Naruto!" said boy hissed as he kicked the high wooden fence that was tinted yellowish before turning to lean on it, his head tilted up and gazing through the eyeholes of his mask to the clear blue sky that was trademark of the leaf.

"Stupid mask…" He muttered lastly. He didn't like the feeling of having to be hidden in his own village. Sighing he dropped his head until he heard a pair of footsteps approaching, he looked up to see if the forthcoming villagers were someone he knew. His hopes were both answered and not so much at the same time. Teal eyes watched him as she passed, her four blonde pigtails sat tightly both high on her head and two down lower, her large black weapon was strapped securely to her back and Naruto knew that when it unfolded it would be a large fan.

Her partner walked next to her, clad in all black and with purple makeup markings on his face, but seemed disinterested in Naruto (who admittedly, probably look a little silly attired in all orange and a fox shaped Anbu mask). He ran a hand roughly back and forth through his blonde spikes, it was odd being taller than Temari and her brother but at the same time it hinted just what part of their past Sasuke and himself were transported to.

Temari eventually tore her gaze away from Naruto's with a short huff and her nose tilted high. Naruto gave a small smile behind his mask and watched the two retreating backs for a few moments before he looked up again to the sky, thinking. If his memory was accurate, then that meant the two of them were either about to bump into his old team or were just walking away from them. Though, Gaara wasn't with them, so in that case it meant they were about to meet for the very first time… That or the two were just out for something to eat or – _something_…

_Ugh! So frustrating! I hate all this past crap! _Naruto groaned and grabbed his hair tightly with his hands, his head suddenly hurting. He took his time to compose himself before standing straight. He slipped his jacket off, left in his dark shirt, before tying the jacket around his waist. He didn't want to resemble his old self too closely.

"Time to start protecting…" He grunted before vanishing in a cloud of smoke.

* * *

"I feel as though you should be watched, Sasuke-kun" Kakashi grinned, one hand in his pocket, the other attentively holding his old orange book. Sasuke glared at his former sensei but chose to remain quiet. Iruka had brought him here, to the Hokage's office, after the Uchiha had refused to answer any of his questions as well.

Of course Kakashi would have had to be here, he said he had just finished nominating Team 7 for the Chunin exams, Sasuke's mind winced at the memories. The Chunin exams was when it all started, it was where he was marked, it was where he found out about Naruto and the Kyuubi. It was a time where he actually felt threatened by Rock Lee and when he (hilariously enough now) prided in Sakura's abilities of chakra control and Genjutsu. He scoffed at the thought.

"Memories, Sasuke?" Kakashi smiled again, catching Sasuke's scoff. Sasuke just rolled his eyes and the other chuckled.

"Even more silent with age, Iruka said you and Naruto were bickering, still doing that too I guess" the man continued to talk, finally closing his book and putting it away, now interested. Sasuke shook his head.

"Naruto is an idiot, we shouldn't let him loose in the village, he'll ruin everything" Sasuke snapped finally, resting one hand on his hip and the other on the hilt of his katana. Kakashi hummed before stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"You're probably right, should we find him? I would like to catch up with him… Somehow I even wish Sakura was here, would be nice to see how the three of you matured" He smiled fondly, feeling open with this cool and dejected Sasuke. Still, he had a feeling Sasuke was cool and crestfallen for all the wrong reasons. Sasuke turned his head at the pinkette's name, wondering where she could've been at the time of the battle; it was odd for Naruto not to have his usual possie cheering him on from the sidelines of every fight.

"A lot was going on, I have no idea where she even was at the time… I have no idea where Naruto was even, so I don't know why I'm even here." The raven grunted, closing his eyes with thought.

"Fate?" Kakashi suggested.

"Hn" Sasuke grunted.

* * *

"We've got a few minutes before he gets here, let's mess with these punks, huh?" Kankuro grinned mischievously as he held the small, squirming Konohamaru up by the scarf.

"Let go of me you jerk!" the boy kicked at and reached up to hold the wrist of his attacker, his teeth grit, his eyes squeezed shut tightly in pain and his breathing shallow.

"You're feisty, but not for long…" Kankuro mocked. A young Naruto physically shook, his entire body convulsing with anger. He wanted to attack; he wanted to mess this stranger up! How dare he hurt Konohamaru.

"Put him down!" He yelled, springing into action and running for the offender. He didn't know how yet, but he was going to make this guy let go of his little friend. His sandals clapped as the hit the ground in the rush. Kankuro, not losing his sly grin, tilted his head only slightly too barely acknowledge Naruto's attack. With his free hand, he made small gestures that could hardly even be considered hand signs. Naruto didn't have time to focus on the movement before he was physically pushed by his feet, backwards and ass first into the ground. He growled and Kankuro could only sneer.

"What the – what the hell was that!" Naruto shouted from the ground with eyes wide and confused.

"You're a leaf Genin too? Looks like your village is full of wimps!" The outsider commented, smirk in place. Sakura watched from behind Naruto, hands brought worriedly to her chest and emerald eyes unconfidently trying to evaluate the situation.

_They're outsiders from somewhere, _she thought as she frowned, _but what are they doing here?_

"Konohamru!" The boy's teammates chimed with uneasiness, one after the other. Naruto clenched his teeth and jaw and pushed himself from the ground.

"Hey! Cut it out! It hurts!" Konohmaru cried, feeling light headed from the tight hold on his throat but his pleas were ignored and Kankuro only held tighter.

"That's it!" Naruto pointed an accusing finger.

"Drop him now or I tear you apart, you got that fool!" He declared, headstrongness fuelled by his anger and protectiveness for his friends. Before he could put his plan (which was nothing but try and run at him again, hoping for the best), he was suffocated by a surprise chokehold from behind.

"You're the fool!" Sakura hissed in annoyance, her grip tight.

"Making threats isn't going to help Naruto!" She lectured but Naruto was too distracted by his needy gasping for breath. Kankuro watched with amused eyes.

"You're annoying, all of you –" he lifted a fist.

"I don't like runts, or any other scrawny weaklings. So when a wimp like this starts shooting off his mouth –" he turned to them fully this time, any hint of amusement on his features replaced with contempt.

"I just want to break 'em in half" Naruto and Sakura inhaled sharply, the seriousness in the guy's tone sent chills through both spines and a sudden sensation of helplessness fell heavily on the group. Moegi and Udon, Konohamaru's teammates, began to get teary and tremble. Temari broke the frightened silence with an impartial sigh.

"Fine, I'm not involved in any of this, okay?" She said, clearly unfazed by such a vehement threat from her partner. Sakura's brows knitted together and her lips sealed tightly.

_What's this guy's problem! This is getting ugly._

"First I'll take care of this little squirt and then I'll waste the other one!" Tears prickled at the corners of Konohamaru's tightly closed eyes, he couldn't see Kankuro's free hand firstly fist and then be pulled back, ready to make his threat authentic, but Naruto could. Without thinking, Naruto roared out and ran for the man again, his full intention to be between that fist and Konohamaru's face. His feet moved quickly one after the other and his heart raced with panic as he watched the fist make its way for Kono's face. Unexpectedly, there was suddenly no need for such self-sacrifice as Konohamaru was dropped with a painful thud. Naruto stopped dead in his tracks and watched Kankuro cradle his now seemingly sore hand against his chest. A small stone fell to the ground and the puppeteer grunted in confusion and stared at it.

"You're a long way from home and you're way out of your league" a cool voice commented from above and suddenly all attention was on the smooth character in the tree. Sasuke tossed another pebble in his hand, his other laid nonchalantly across his knee.

"Sasuke!" Sakura announced enthusiastically, more than ready to welcome the rescue.

"Ugh…" Naruto stared dumbly up at his 'oh-so-awesome' teammate. Kankuro simply sneered while Temari gazed up, an instant infatuation apparent across her blushing features.

_Well, well_ – she mentally commented – _local hottie!_

"Naruto!" Konohamaru spoke breathlessly as he ran back to his young idol. Kankuro's scorn only intensified as he held his still aching and bleeding hand, which had been struck by the offending pebble that still lay on the ground.

"Oh great, another wimp to tick me off" he snarled, eyes narrow and annoyed. Sasuke paused his tossing of the rock, only to catch it and turn it to dust, crushing it in his palm.

"Get lost" and the fans go wild on the ground.

"Hey punk, get down here –" Sasuke glared at the boy covered in black who continued to speak, "you're the kind of pesky, snot nosed brat I hate the most! All attitude and nothing to back it up!" He grabbed the bandage that hung over his shoulder and pulled at it, heaving the large – _whatever it was_ – from his back.

"What! Are you going to use the Crow, for this!" Temari breathed as her eyes widened. The so called 'Crow' fell with a brash thud at Kankuro's feet and he placed his hand a top of it. A few speedy moments of shocked silence passed between the group before they were interrupted.

"Kankuro… Back off" A heavy voice drawled slowly. Sasuke shivered and his eyes opened wide with a jolt when he realised that the dark voice came from behind him amongst the leaves of the tree he sat in. The Konoha Genin gazed up with surprise as well, while the foreigners looked terrified.

"You're an embarrassment to our village" the red head said, voice continuingly just as dark and calm as he hung upside down from a large branch that forked from the other side of the trunk of the tree that Sasuke sat in.

"Uh… Hey Gaara…" Kankuro suddenly was putty in the presence of this newcomer. Sasuke, trying to stay as aloof and cool as ever, barely glanced over his shoulder to get a look of the Shinobi although he was desperate to see him.

_How did he get there? He didn't make a sound… Only Jonin of Kakashi's level are that smooth. _Sasuke thought, a stray bead of sweat rolled uncharacteristically nervously down the side of the young Uchiha's face.

"Have you forgotten the reason we came all the way here?" Gaara's eyes moved slickly from staring at Sasuke to down at Kankuro, instantly making the other jump.

"I know! T-They challenged us! They started the whole thing really!" the boy put his hands up defensively, sweating with his sudden nerves.

"See here's what happened –"

"Shut up… Or I'll kill you" was all the threat that was needed for the other's lips to snap shut audibly.

"Uh right! Sorry Gaara, I was totally out of line!" Kankuro apologised, still looking tense.

"I'm sorry for any trouble he caused" Gaara apologised smoothly after turning to Sasuke, who he assumed had reigns over the group. Sasuke said nothing, only thought.

_This guy has an evil look in his eye…_

And Gaara's own thoughts played in the silence.

_This guy stopped Kankuro with a pebble and made it look easy. This guy is someone to keep an eye on. _Gaara then began to focus on evaporating to sand in order to join his team on the ground before another strange voice interrupted them.

"Wah! Ahahaha!" A loud, obnoxious laughter erupted from the top of the tree before a body fell from it to behind the fence at the bottom of the tree's trunk. Sasuke jumped to his feet, admittedly shocked by the sudden loudness. Gaara quickly evaporated to join his teammates on the ground, while Naruto, Sakura and the others just stared speechless as a masked, blonde hair teen popped up from behind the fence to sit on it, still laughing and holding his sides.

"I-I'm sorry!" He breathed between giggles.

"B-But, you g-guys! Y-You were seriously way too serious! Ahaha!" Sasuke snarled in his throat and glared at the laughing idiot that was all too familiarly clad in orange pants and orange jacket (and he was obviously such an idiot that he had no right whatsoever to laugh at Sasuke Uchiha). Gaara harboured a similar glare and the two once again shared comparable thoughts.

_I can't really say he's an idiot, how long was he in this tree that I didn't notice him. _Sasuke thought, reprimanding himself. Finally the laughter died down and Sasuke leapt to join his teammate on the ground as well. If Naruto could, he would wipe his teary eyes from behind his mask, but alas his identity must remain hidden. Through the moments of thick silence, he took his chance to take in his young friends.

Gaara, looking so much angrier then he could ever picture the serene red-head looking in his time but of course right now he still had a vendetta against the world and a sickening blood lust. Then he turned to Sasuke, clipped and perfect of course, these were the days were the Uchiha only aspired for revenge instead of throwing himself into the pits of darkness to exact it. And Sakura, young and beautiful (with her old, long pink hair) as ever but far more timid and unsure of herself and her incredible abilities.

"And just who the hell are you!" A flashy, raspy voice growled with a pointing finger. Naruto followed the finger to gaze at his former self, short and scrawny of course with big, blue eyes of pure optimism. It hurt, to think he was ever so naïve and he wished that these days he still could be. Naruto waved his hand dismissively.

"I'm no one" He grinned from behind the mask. His voice irked Sasuke and the Uchiha couldn't help but glare, having a feeling he had heard it before somewhere… Screeching in his ears.

"How long were you up there exactly!" The young Naruto whined but his question was never answered.

"Hold on! I can tell from your headbands –" Sakura pointed to Gaara's trio, "and from your lack of one –" She pointed to Naruto on the fence.

"That you come from the village Hidden in the Sand and you from who knows where! Of course the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind are allies but no Shinobi can enter another's village without permission! So state your purpose and it better be good!"

_Ah Sakura… Always so bossy._ Naruto reminisced.

"Really?" Temari turned, "have you guys all been living under a rock or what? You don't know what's going on do you?" Naruto felt the deja-vu crash into him like an angry Sakura's fist. He watched Gaara glanced up to take a peek of him from the corner of his eye, same went with Sasuke and all of a sudden a hot feeling swelled in his stomach and he grinned happily behind the mask.

_Now who's worth paying attention to huh! Not Mr. Young-hotshot-Sasuke, that's for sure! Or Mr. I-hate-life-Gaara! _He paraded mentally. Temari held up her certified identification card.

"We have permission, of course you're correct, we are hidden sand Genin. Our home is the land of the wind and we're here for the Chunin exams" she explained and then glanced up to the older Naruto who seemed to just be enjoying himself silently watching.

"What?" He frowned when all of a sudden, all eyes were on him. He rolled his own before sighing.

"I uh… Me too! What she said!" He shrugged, not really caring if they believed him or not. Briefly he wondered if Sasuke would be mad at Naruto for interacting with their younger selves. He hadn't meant to! He was content with just watching, but damn it was so hilarious to remember just how seriously everyone took themselves when they were so young.

"The Chunin exams… What's that? I've never heard of any Chunin exams…" His younger self muttered, features dripping with confusion.

"You guys are so clueless" Temari rolled her eyes and absently watched Konohamaru explain to his so called 'chief'.

"Oh why didn't you say so! I am so there!" Naruto's hands balled into fists of excitement and grinned, Gaara could do nothing but jeer at his ignorance and even his older self felt a pinch of embarrassment. He really was so clueless. The sand team turned and started to leave, but Naruto didn't miss another glance that Gaara slipped his way as he moved to depart.

"Hey you!" Sasuke called, making older Naruto shiver with nostalgia. Gaara and the others froze and looked back over their shoulders.

"Identify yourself!" He demanded. Naruto rolled his eyes, always so pushy.

"Who? You mean me?" Temari blushed, her voice high with hope and Naruto rolled his eyes again.

"No, him. The guy with the gourd on his back" Sasuke pointed and if Naruto remembered correctly, this was the beginning of the end of their first encounter with Gaara. So he stood and prepared to leave, balancing himself atop the fence.

"My name is Subaku no Gaara… I'm curious about you too. Who are you?"

"I am Sasuke Uchiha" Naruto once again had to supress the giggles that threatened to erupt, they both looked so intense.

"Hey there! I bet you want to know my name too right!" Naruto, ever being the one for tension breaking, proclaimed with false hopes.

"I couldn't care less…" Gaara growled lowly and the older Naruto scoffed.

"You will…" He grumbled quietly under his breath and to himself, catching Gaara's attention.

"And you, I want to know your name too, what village are you from?" Gaara turned his body towards Naruto on the fence and with a glance he saw a just as interested Sasuke and a deflated Naruto behind him. He felt nervous with all eyes on him.

"You already know…" Was all he muttered dejectedly, finally overcome with reminiscence before leaping and vanishing.

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**Ohhhh, so aloof Naruto! Ha! R & R Please! Thankyou!**


	6. Chapter 5

**Once again, you guys are wonderful reviewers! I'm sorry it took so long for me to upload this, school is such a hassle! Fanfiction is entirely more important! ;) Haha! **

**This chapter feels like a bit of a filler but it highlights the fact that Naruto and Sasuke didn't start of OOC as they might turn out a bit later on in the story! On that note, thankyou loyal SasuNaru fans for being patient up until chapter five and _you will be rewarded for your faithfullness in chapter six with a bit more very evident SasuNaruess!_ Woo!...? Haha!**

**Anywho, enjoy!**

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_Timeless_

_by ferriswheel95_

"I bet ya' it was that stupid Kiba!" Naruto huffed, cheeks haughtily puffed out in frustration and his foxy eyes squinted practically closed. Sakura and Sasuke walked either side of him, trying to work out just who the stranger was that 'they knew'.

"Kiba is too small Naruto, you idiot, this guy was older" she decided and Sasuke gave a quick nod in agreement. Naruto whined loudly and threw his hands up.

"Ma! Maybe the guy was just screwing with us then!" he exasperated and now it was Sasuke's turn to huff. He shoved his hands in his pockets but said nothing. His mind ran wild with options but none matched the vibrant blonde hair of the stranger, none other than Naruto of course. It irked him though, Sasuke Uchiha was used to being great so to be snuck up on not only once, but twice in the same afternoon had his skin practically crawling with detest.

"Whatever… I'm going home for real now; don't get into any more trouble. I won't be around to bail you two out the next time" he grumbled and Naruto's fists clenched, though he kept his mouth shut. They'd already had this argument once today. Sakura's face just fell, but she (like Naruto) was too exhausted to protest her loves absence.

"See you later Sasuke-kun" she waved before turning to Naruto and heading off in her direction as well, "See you Naruto" she offered before stepping off as well. Naruto stood at the cross section, only waving to the retreating Sakura. He sighed and stuffed his hands in his pockets.

_The Chunin exams, huh? _He questioned, excited by just the idea of promotion and his one step closer to being Hokage.

* * *

"You did what!?" Sasuke's voice practically sprang off the walls of the Hokage's office. Naruto flinched and he pulled his mask off, giving a small and nervous grin.

"Oh come on Sasuke, it wasn't that bad, they didn't recognise me and I didn't change anything. You and Gaara still had your little angsty moment, it's fine!" He argued, but Sasuke only continued to fume. Kakashi watched from the sidelines looking amused with Iruka beside him. Kurenai and Asuma were also summoned to join the meeting as their teams would be very actively involved in the protection and of course, the third sat behind his desk.

"If you ruin this for me, Naruto_, I'll_ –" Sasuke's voice was low and threatening but Naruto only rolled his eyes.

"You'll what Sasuke?" He scoffed, once again only intensifying Sasuke's rage. Kurenai and Asuma glanced to each other and the movement caught Naruto's eye. He turned to the two and smiled fondly, almost sadly at the memories of his bout of training with Asuma, Iruka paled when he saw the look on Naruto's face.

"God…" The brunette whispered, shaking his head and gathering the groups attention.

"Naruto, I can still read you so well…" He whispered and the blonde frowned, taking a step towards his sensei.

"What do you mean?" He asked lightly, genuinely confused. The elites in the room leaned in inquisitively but Iruka could only shake his head.

"Asuma or Kurenai… One of them, or both, are gone aren't they?" Iruka breathed out shakily, russet eyes stern and fists clenched by his sides at the mere idea of it. Naruto couldn't help but inhale sharply at the reminder and everyone else's eyes widened marginally, even Sasuke. Judging from the reaction and the silence he received from the two time travellers, Iruka could see he was right and he simply sighed forlornly.

"I could tell, from that sad smile you had…" Iruka whispered and suddenly Kurenai's and Asuma's eyes swam in panic as they gazed longingly (unbeknownst to most at this time) at each other. Kakashi's eye was simply down cast and the third was as contemplative looking and composed as ever. Sasuke on the other hand…

"What?" He breathed out, catching Naruto off guard. He turned to the raven and shrugged sadly.

"You weren't there…" Naruto muttered, the office disappearing from around him which left only him and Sasuke, as reminiscent as when Naruto met their younger selves.

"I guess not… Who?" He was composed and seemingly unfazed.

"Akatsuki member, Hidan…" Naruto whispered and Sasuke's stomach clenched at the mention of the group. The mood suddenly became very heavy and the room, except for Sasuke and Naruto, finally were overcome by a dark confusion, questions running through their heads.

"Akatsuki…" An old voice drawled from behind them all. Naruto turned to the third with a frown, not knowing that the old man could have possibly known about the organisation and the fact that he did, made him kind of mad.

"You know about them? Even now?" Naruto asked carefully, brows knitted together. The Hokage looked stern and contemplative before giving the smallest of nods but seemed unsure of himself.

"I've heard rumors… Things they are plotting –"

"So you know they're after me?" Naruto said calmly, making everyone (even Sasuke) flinch but the Hokage remained calm.

"Yes" he breathed before closing his eyes. Naruto's hands balled into fists by his sides.

"And you're not doing anything!? Actually don't answer that, I _know_ you're not doing anything!" He yelled, storming up to the desk and smashing the fist against it.

"Naruto!" Iruka scolded but Naruto was too focused on his heated glare, aimed right into the Hokage's soul. Said man pushed himself slowly from his hunched position over his desk and leaned back into his chair, looking as wise as ever but Naruto was as stubborn as ever too. The blonde was furious, the fact that the third and he imagined everyone in this room knew about the Akatsuki, meant that everything didn't have to have gone the way it had. There need not be so much death, hate and revenge, all he wanted was peace and he was sure the third did as well. Then let the heavy burden fall on his shoulders? Why not do something now!?

"What do you want me to do, Naruto?" He asked and Naruto's rage faltered. He knew he shouldn't be upset at anyone from this time, things happened and every one (especially the third) didn't have a chance in hell of knowing how everything would plan out, but still, everything that was happening and everything he suddenly had to do; it hurt. The blonde's frame began to shake and his anger fell from his eyes to puddle at his feet.

"I… I –" he stammered, still trembling. His insistent shaking ceased though when a cold hand gripped his shoulder, pale fingers digging into the orange jacket and electrifying the tan skin underneath it.

"You can't do anything" Sasuke enlightened quietly for the third before glaring at the back of Naruto's head and oh boy, did he ever feel it.

"And you still have entirely too big of a mouth" he hissed lowly and Naruto's fist slid from the desk, instantly calm under the Uchiha's cool touch even if his voice laced lividness, his voice alone whatever the tone was all Naruto needed to be calmer.

"He's right Naruto, you're giving so much away, not that I'm complaining. But isn't that, oh I don't know, bad for your future? What if we try to change it?" Kakashi's eye curved and everyone could see he was smiling; Naruto mimicked him with a grin, albeit small.

"I doubt anyone in this room would" he nodded, very sure of himself. Sasuke's hand finally fell from his former teammates shoulder and he turned to look around at his past. Kakashi hadn't changed, even from the brief encounter after killing Danzou, he could confidentially say that his former teacher was aging gracefully.

"You'll watch over team 7 firstly, attending training sessions with the team undercover as a Shinobi doing their practical." The third finally announced, shattering the silence. Naruto, as usual, raised his eyebrows in question.

"We're undercover as if we're training to be teachers" Sasuke sighed; if he had to continue explaining such things to Naruto he knew he was going to do his head in. Naruto 'oh-ed' before nodding.

"You'll switch between teams, but of course I expect your main focus to be on your team" he continued and Naruto huffed again. Sasuke just nodded, as if he was so used to taking orders from the Hokage, as if he was used to being in Konoha. It irked Naruto.

"We'll go get you guys uniforms" Asuma finally interjected and Sasuke immediately stiffened.

_Spoke too soon?_ Naruto mused as he watched Sasuke's eyes darken. The blonde's heart began to pound and went into a panicked over drive, he could see the raven was suddenly having second thoughts on being 'normal'.

"Hahah!" He laughed loudly and dragged the attention while he patted Sasuke roughly on the back, the raven winced but he snapped out of his suddenly dark mood.

"I haven't been in a Konoha uniform yet! Same for Sasuke! Right, _Sasuke_!? We're really anxious!" He tried awkwardly as he continued to laugh and Sasuke unconsciously thanked Naruto with a small nod. His stomach clenched and as did Naruto's when their eyes locked for a few moments and Naruto's heart skipped one it's beats at the prospect of seeing Sasuke suited up as a Shinobi of Konohagakure again. Sasuke's heart dropped, not missing the false hopes that whirled through Naruto's blue hues.

"Right…" He grumbled finally and the uneasiness in the room dissipated.

"Dismissed" The Hokage grunted and they all bowed, Sasuke hesitantly at first but then compliant with a glare from Naruto. One by one they slipped out of the room and the two time nomads followed the Jonin to get their uniforms.

"Just how strong is this guy anyway?" Asuma asked, glancing over his shoulder and Naruto stiffened before humming.

"Very?" He mused, tapping his chin thoughtfully and Sasuke rolled his eyes, lips tightly shut.

"He is an Uchiha after all – Ah!" Naruto's hands smacked over his big mouth and the others froze completely, staring at Naruto with eclectic and unbelieving eyes. The three Jonin's mouths hung ever so slightly and their bodies were slack with shock. He knew he really had gone too far when he saw the red flash in Sasuke's normally dark eyes.

"He's what..?" Kurenai, daring to be the first to breathe.

"No! I didn't mean too! I mean – I… I!" The blonde insistent ramble was cut short violently however and a loud crack resonated throughout the dark hallway they all stood in. Naruto fell to the ground in a pained heap and Sasuke stood above him, Sharingan flashing fiery crimson and his fist still hung in the air from where Naruto's face had just been.

"Asshole!" Naruto screamed, clutching his now aching jaw as he scrambled to his feet. Sasuke stood straight, but still fuming.

"Sasuke!" Asuma reprimanded, being the most paternal kind out of everyone currently present.

"No! If he's going to keep running his mouth he's going to ruin everything for me!"

"Like it isn't already, Sasuke!" Naruto screamed, azure eyes no longer swimming with the angry adrenaline from being punch, but now rather on the verge of tears. Sasuke froze and because he did so did the others but Kakashi and Asuma were on edge, ready to break up a fight.

_Like they could…_ Sasuke snapped in his head, flinching to glare at the three Jonin that watched them anxiously.

"Come on Naruto" Iruka whispered as he grabbed the wrist of the blonde to drag him away and Naruto let him, his and Sasuke's eyes catching once more before blue ones darted to the side and then were hidden by the mask he slipped on. The two had disappeared down the hall and around the corner before Sasuke let his body ease and he ran a shaky hand through his dark locks with a sigh.

"You guys are worse than ever" Kakashi deliberated and Asuma nodded in agreement.

"I know you said they fought Kakashi but this is brutally hostile" Kurenai said and Sasuke grit his teeth to the point it felt like they could shatter and his fists balled at his side again, Asuma immediately picked up the aggressive energy radiating from the Uchiha. He gave him a glare and commanded him too simply 'calm down'. Sasuke growled low in his throat in defence.

"You will not tell me what to do" Sasuke barked, fists still clenched and his eyes flashing the Sharingan again and making the other's edgy and instantly tense. His blood still boiled at the sight of Kakashi and until know he thought he was hiding his detest for the man who stole his precious lineage.

"None of you have any right to tell me what to do!" He growled again and Kakashi stepped forward, Sasuke was still his student and still his responsibility, well that's how he saw it – regardless of what may have happened in the future or how distant he and his team may be, they will always be his.

"Sasuke… There is no need to be so unfriendly, come on. You two are staying at my place. Like you said, you don't want to give anything away right?" He gave a small smile before his steely grey eye was serious, bordering threatening because the grey haired nin wasn't stupid, he could practically touch the hate that dripped from Sasuke. Sasuke's cerise eyes faded into the usual onyx but his hardened expression remained and Kakashi could only guess it would be that way for a while.

"Come on, we'll get you uniforms tomorrow" He waved as he walked in the same direction that Iruka and Naruto had gone and they too vanished around the corner. Kurenai breathed out, not knowing she had held her breath for so long and Asuma just frowned, he had hoped that those two had grown by now – that and he was still shaken by the revelation that he would be dead in just a few years.

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed! Next chapter will be up soon! The more reviews the quicker the chapter comes; because reviews make me excited to write more! Ahah! It's not just shameless bribery!**


	7. Chapter 6

**So hey guys! Um, yep, basically I wrote this chapter out straight after I uploaded the other one! Was just too pumped to have them all finally interacting! I hope the characters aren't too OOC! Uhm, I am copying most of the dialougue from the episodes but then tweek it as I go along to involve the older Naruto and Sasuke... Although, I have the episodes on DVD! I DON'T HAVE ANYMORE EPISODES AFTER THIS ONE AND I CAN'T WATCH ONLINE! AH! Ahah, oh well... I'll find something!**

**Like I said, finally Sasuke is cracking a little and remembering his bond with Naruto (severed ties my ass). I hope you enjoy, I made sure this chapter was longer!**

**And remember! Reviews make me update faster! Woo!**

* * *

_Timeless_

_by ferriswheel95_

Team 7 stood silent on the bridge, each leaning against the railings. All three could safely say that they were bored out of their minds although each should have been used to this by now. Sasuke decidedly savoured the peace and quiet; the only sounds surrounding him were either the calm running stream below them, the light chirp of birds above or the gentle rustle of the leaves disturbed by the breeze.

"Ugh! Say! Say! Say!" Sasuke; he who always speaks too soon. Sakura pushed herself from the railing, fists clenched, hair frizzy and face flushed from her sudden apparent rage. He glanced at Naruto who had jumped from the sudden outburst and stood back from both Sakura and the railing, but still close enough to be ever interested.

"Why is it that he's always the one that calls us out, only to make us wait!?" She turned to Naruto, knowing she'd be granted more a reaction from him rather than Sasuke.

"That's right! That's right!" Naruto agreed heartily as predicted, pushing a fist to the air. Sakura turned away, still with the full intention of ranting as she brought one of her clenched fists to her chest.

"What's he going to do about the feelings of a maiden who accidentally overslept and resigned herself to no blow drying!?" Naruto nodded enthusiastically with each word Sakura spoke, her voice raspy enough to resemble an angry growl.

"I overslept so I haven't washed my face or brushed my teeth!" Naruto tried to contribute but Sasuke and Sakura simply stopped to look at him with disbelieving expressions and Sakura's previous rage dissipated, sooner replaced with a mixture of disgust and shock.

"Y-You… That's dirty, Naruto" she reprimanded quietly and Naruto deflated with a small whine. Okay, maybe he had gone a tad bit too far; he hadn't overslept that much after all. Sasuke finally glanced away from the two to stare at the ground with an uninterested look.

_Why're these guys so hyper first thing in the morning!? _He grumbled in his head, obviously agitated but too indifferent to do or say anything about it. He was content with just leaning on the railing and filtering the other two's chatter out. Finally something caught his eye and he turned to see Kakashi arrive atop of the beams that stretched decoratively above the bridge they stood on.

"Hey, good morning" He smiled with a slight wave before continuing, "today I got slightly lost on the path of life…"

"That's a lie!" Sakura and Naruto accused loudly in unison. Sasuke rolled his eyes and pushed himself off the railing finally to join the other two who stood in the middle of the bridge, staring up at their teacher.

Though just as he did, Sasuke was alarmed to see two figures join Kakashi either side of him in the same fashion of a quick blur like Kakashi. They were clad in the typical Konoha Shinobi uniform but with masks covering their faces, resembling Anbu. The one to Kakashi's right had dark hair that spiked similar to his, only this man's seemed longer. He wore a dark blue undershirt beneath the green vest that reached his mid forearm and from there, the rest of his arm was covered in a very dark grey, tight arm warmer that reached almost to his knuckles. His mask was one of a hawk with dark lines that contrasted the white porcelain. Sasuke frowned and turned his attention to the other man, attired in the same uniform, only his undershirt was rolled to his elbows and his hands covered in fingerless gloves similar to Kakashi's. The young Uchiha took in the blonde mop of hair and the grinning fox mask until he realised, that this was the guy from yesterday.

"Who're these guys!?" Naruto yelled, the two men unflinching. Kakashi looked between them before leaping down and they followed. The older Naruto could tell that both Sasuke's were uncomfortable with the situation but he could only guess for two completely different reasons. Young Sasuke still in riles about being so easily snuck up on yesterday during their brief encounter and the Sasuke he knew now would be writhing internally from the discomfort of facing his past and what was.

"Um, well…" Kakashi started only to be interrupted by Sakura.

"He's the guy from yesterday!" Sakura announced and the blonde in the mask could practically feel the heat coming from a certain older Uchiha's glare. Realisation dawned on a young Naruto's face and his eyes lit up.

"Hey yeah! The guy that was laughing at us and said we knew him!" He added and the older Naruto felt as if he could practically combust from the heat of the angry Sharingan that was bearing (unbeknownst to anyone else) into his skull, he didn't have to see Sasuke to know that the Uchiha was about ready to jump him.

"U-Uh well! You see, I meant that as in –" Naruto stammered as he scratched the back of his head nervously, not only did he have to defend himself against the youngsters but he had to think quick or Sasuke just might rip out his vocal cords to stop the blonde from saying anything else stupid.

"As in you would know him as of today, as these two are your knew practical teachers. Isn't that right..? Uh…" Kakashi stumbled over his words, only partially saving the day but not being able to pick a fake name for Naruto quick enough. Naruto was finally with it however, a fake name already very much so imprinted forever in his mind. A fake name for a fake person and a fake smile.

"Sai, I'm Sai" Naruto bowed and the three blinked, unconsciously so did an older Sasuke. The older raven's brows knitted together and his stomach twisted at the sudden reminder of his replacement, it only tightened further when he realised that if Naruto had chosen that name then was Naruto thinking of Sai? It felt strange, to know or think that if any random name that was on the blonde's mind shouldn't it have someone like Tobi or Madara right now? Their younger counterparts wouldn't have recognised either of those, yet Naruto still thought of Sai.

"And this is…" Kakashi physically nudged Sasuke from his considerations with a quick and what appeared an outwardly friendly shake to the shoulder.

"Juugo…" Sasuke muttered with the slightest of bows. Two could play the new teammate game although something told him that Naruto didn't nearly think as much into their new names as Sasuke did.

"Ah! But you lied, you're not really here for the Chunin Exam then!" Naruto pointed to… Naruto.

"Never mind Juugo or Sai, they're only learning themselves, simply here to observe! Sai is a bit of a joker, he was probably just trying to mess with you Naruto" The two nodded in agreement and older Naruto laughed and scratched the back of his head again while the other three looked a little stunned by the intrusions to their still very new team. Naruto looked a little more confused than the others but that was probably because he was still trying to figure out what these two were doing here, not yet understanding the concept of practicals.

"Uh, this is sudden, but I recommended you guys for the Chunin Exam. So, here these are your applications" their Sensei held out three pieces of paper which each of their names written on them in ink.

"Chunin Exam…" Sakura trailed off, each of them looking more shocked at this revelation than they did when they were greeted by the two new teens.

"That being said, the recommendations are not compulsory. You guys are free to decide whether or not you want to take the exam." Kakashi informed lightly, the attitude towards the whole situation being very aloof and cool.

"Yes! I love you, Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto yelled, obviously not getting the 'aloof' memo. He leapt from his spot and pounced on Kakashi, arms wrapped around his neck and swinging in excitement. An older Naruto had to contain himself from pooling into a puddle of embarrassment, his entire face and neck going pink while Sasuke simply snorted in amusement.

_I can't believe I was like this…_ He whined quietly in his head.

"Hey! Cut it out! Get off already!" Kakashi warned, this being his first team he himself wasn't used to their affections that came with mentoring a trio of 12 year olds. Naruto finally slid down and was handed the application. Kakashi stepped back.

"Only those who want to take the exam sign that application and come to room 301 of the academy at 3:00pm five days from now. That's it!"

"Chunin Exam! Chunin Exam!" Naruto grinned as wide as ever, gazing longing at the application that was suddenly his ticket to being one step closer to Hokage. An older Naruto shifted uneasily however, stuffing his hands into his pockets. It was hard to see a younger him, so naïve an optimistic and it hurt for him to know that while he expected to be Hokage by now (at least he did when he was 12, which is entirely unrealistic!) he wasn't. He was still messing around, his entire world threatened by dark forces. He wished he could go back to when everything was so easy.

* * *

Kakashi eventually dismissed them, giving the team the rest of the day off to think over the Exam but he instructed them that 'Sai' and 'Juugo' would follow them, getting used to the team dynamics.

"Chunin Exam eh?" Naruto grinned as the five of them walked, the elders trailing not a meter behind the team. The young blonde was still grinning with excitement at the paper.

"I bet lots of strong guys will be there…" He mused out loud and Sasuke snorted from behind them again, making all three turn to look at him over their shoulders. Sasuke stiffened, their eye prying eyes all suddenly swimming with questions that Sasuke already knew he wasn't about to answer.

"Uh, Sai-san, Juugo-san – did you two take the Chunin Exam?" Sakura enquired completely politely and Sasuke rolled his eyes, knowing she was anything but to the people she chose not to tolerate.

"Mah! We both did!" Naruto answered, entirely too enthusiastic as he put his hands behind his head and even with the mask, he knew Naruto was grinning from the memories.

"A-Ah… Was it… Hard?" Sakura stammered and Sasuke remembered this all too well, this was the peel of her self-doubt stage and he recalled a younger him having the full intention of improving his pink haired teammate's self-worth with subtle encouraging comments and such but as of now, he just found it weak and annoying.

"Of course it's hard" he snapped and Sakura flinched, her emerald eyes swimming with a sudden dread. Naruto growled low in his throat, an almost silent warning for Sasuke to stop being such an asshole to Sakura-chan! Then again he had tried to kill the girl not all that long ago…

_Then again he had tried to kill me – twice…_ His mind recollected before he turned to his younger self. The young Naruto's expression said it all; although they were strong, Naruto was imagining absolutely crushing Kankuro and Sasuke, one foot on their unconscious piled bodies as he stood victorious with a flurry of confetti falling around him. He looked to Sasuke, who had turned from the other two to stare pointedly at the ground. The young raven's expression was dejected at first but then slowly morphed into an angry yet determined scowl and Naruto could only guess who he was thinking about. He wasn't deluded enough anymore to hope that Sasuke was provoked at the notion of a fight with Naruto, no, Sasuke was only interested in Gaara at this point.

The raven's head glanced over his shoulder to the masked men, more decidedly the blonde one, with the same glare. Naruto gulped when their eyes locked and he quickly glanced away. Okay, so now maybe Gaara wasn't the only one on Sasuke's 'to defeat' list.

"How long are you guys going to follow us for?" Naruto finally dragged his attention from his application to walk backwards so he could stroll and address the two new nin at the same time. Naruto and Sasuke glanced to each other, both without an answer before Naruto shrugged.

"How long are you guys going to be together for?" An older Naruto enquired and the younger pursed his lips in thought.

"How about we go to the dango place and get something to eat, since it's only late morning" Sakura suggested and young Naruto grinned with promise that, that was a great idea.

"Hn." Sasuke grunted, obviously not completely opposed to the idea otherwise he would have voiced so. Although as usual, he would always rather be alone, he wanted to be around these other two for a little while; try to pry some information about the Chunin Exam from them.

"Dango it is!" Sakura smiled.

* * *

"How old are you two anyway?" Naruto grumbled from across the table with a mouth full of dango. Sasuke and Naruto sat across from their old team, Naruto with three spikes of dango, Sakura the same and Sasuke simply with team. The older two mimicked their younger selves with their choices and when Sakura had asked earlier why they only got tea they simply said 'they don't like sweets' in harmony.

"16, turning 17" Naruto answered as he picked up one of his sticks and tried to figure out how to eat it without revealing his face. He expected Sasuke had the same problem as he hadn't touched his tea.

"Wow, you two are so young and already Chunin…" Sakura mused a little sadly, that same self-doubt swimming through her eyes. Naruto lifted his mask slightly at the bottom, enough to fit the dango in and take a bite but not enough to expose himself.

"I never said we were Chu-NIN!" Naruto chocked on his dango from a swift elbow to the rib. After a bit of trouble swallowing he turned to glare at the offending Uchiha who now merely looked ahead.

"If you're not Chunin, then how are you taking practicals already?" Sakura frowned, suddenly very confused and of course she had every right. Sasuke's own brows knitted together, the two of them being the inquisitive ones of course they would pick up on details like that while Naruto of course continued eating, only to stop when he picked up on his teammate's suspicious moods. The older Naruto stammered around his words for a few moments before settling for –

"We're just that strong" and Sasuke felt like he could have thrown his tea over the idiots face. Declaring his strength like that, Sasuke knew all too well that it would get his younger self suddenly itching for a fight and of course in a bad mood at the outlook of being the weakest at the table.

"I bet you're not that strong, I bet I'm way stronger! Maybe even Sasuke will be stronger then you" the young blonde scoffed, finishing his last sweet. Sasuke's features hardened and Sakura suddenly became uncomfortable between the two of them, both radiating the need to fight. To Naruto's surprise, it was the older Sasuke that scoffed sardonically at the threat.

"Hey! What's with that attitude!? I could take you right now if you wanted to!" Naruto howled from across the table, the older Sasuke unmoving while it was obvious (to Sasuke at least) that 'Sai' was suddenly uncomfortable.

"Naruto!" Sakura chastised quietly.

"I'll take this guy any day!" Naruto continued.

"If you fought me right now, _Naruto_, you would definitely die" Sasuke said unmoving, only the way Sasuke practically purred his name made the mature blonde know there was a double meaning behind his threat. And as far as Naruto saw it, there was no need for it! The younger one grit his teeth, thrown off by such a serious warning at first but as usual, too big headed to earnestly acknowledge. A low growl formed in his throat as he prepared for more but Sakura beat him too it.

"Knock it off Naruto!" She hissed, "People are looking and that's seriously embarrassing!" She added lowly. The five of them glanced around and true to Sakura's word they were causing quite a bit of commotion.

"Mah… Sorry Sakura-chan…" Naruto whispered, defeated as he nervously scratched the back of his neck. The young Sasuke suddenly tensed as he watched Naruto scratch, something he would almost call a habit of Naruto's. Though, something he was realising was that it was also the habit of a certain other blonde, 'Sai'. He looked between the two with a glower, scrutinizing every inch and movement between the two with his calculating eyes. Slowly some things were starting to get eery. Their equally hoarse voices; albeit 'Sai's' being deeper and more matured. Their minor quirks, such as the nervous neck scratch, their choice in food and of course their wide grins. Although Sasuke couldn't technically see it behind the foxy mask, he could tell, he knew he could.

"–kin at?" A voice drawled and finally pulled Sasuke from his thoughts.

"Hn?" He grunted like he had just been woken. Eyes rolled behind a mask.

"I said, what're you looking at, teme?" And in that instant the entire table froze. An older Sasuke glared mercilessly at Naruto, who suddenly just wanted to earth to open and eat him whole, anything would be better than facing a very pissed off older Sasuke later over his mistake.

"Ha! See Sasuke!? I'm not the only one that thinks you're a bastard!" Naruto grinned and the older funnily enough mentally thanked himself for the quick save.

"Hn…" The young Sasuke dismissed and both elders relaxed somewhat. Eventually they had finished at the restaurant and currently stood outside it. The three of them seemed comfortable with going their own ways now, but Naruto had other plans.

"How about a sparring session!?" He suggested a little too enthusiastically and an older Sasuke eyed him warily. Naruto wanted to keep the group together for as long as possible, still completely guarded of the fact that Tobi is entirely unpredictable and could chose to attack at any time. So the longer they had them together, the more at ease Naruto would feel. The team glanced around the each other before Sasuke shook his head.

"I train better by myself." He excused, hands in pockets before he turned and started to head off. Naruto's stomach twisted anxiously but he couldn't think of anything quick enough that wouldn't make the raven suspicious and keep him there at the same time so Naruto let him go. But just to be on the safe side…

"Hey!" Sasuke growled, glaring at Naruto for the elbow to the ribs.

"You glare way too much" Naruto commented before flicking a hand in Sasuke's direction. The older one finally caught on, he wanted to groan in detest of trailing a 12 year old but of course it was all for the sake of his future. He started off quickly to catch up to his former self while Naruto stayed with the other two.

"What're you doing?" Sasuke snapped when he saw 'Juugo' fall in step beside him.

"Walking you home…" He answered lamely and Sasuke stopped to glare at him. The elder rolled his eyes and sighed in annoyance.

"I live this way, not far from you and I'm going home too" he finally bit out, slightly less lame. A silence fell over the two before the younger one finally grunted and started to walk again. An uncomfortable silence fell between the two and Sasuke noted that it wasn't like he was walking side by side with himself; he was walking beside a complete stranger. The younger him was so weak and immature, he had even deluded himself into thinking that he might actually be able to the strength he needed and stay in Konoha. He also thought his brother was a murderous monster… This kid was definitely a stranger, a young angry, revenge driven stranger with nothing but naivety and juvenile hopefulness clouding his better judgement. But if Sasuke had it his way, and he usually did, his future will remain the same and this stranger will slowly develop into the S-class Shinobi he is now.

"Look, I don't know who you two are or what you're up to but I'm on to you" Sasuke finally threatened after 5 minutes into their walk and alerting Sasuke from his train of thought. However, the older raven remained impassive although it was hopeless behind his mask; ironically his mask was of no use because he was wearing one.

"I don't know what you're talking about…" He grunted back lowly and Sasuke stormed out in front of the other, stopping in front of him and glaring until the other stopped as well.

"I think you do. I don't know what that Sai guy is doing by copying Naruto either – " He started darkly and older Sasuke was impressed with himself for picking up on behaviours the two blonde idiots shared.

"I'll say this once and once only, don't mess with my team, don't mess with Naruto" He hissed through clenched teeth before turning and leaving before he let his anger better him, leaving a wide eyed and slack jawed Sasuke behind, shocked by his own protectiveness.

* * *

When Sasuke got back to Kakashi's place it was getting dark and the silver haired nin was gone, only Naruto sat on the couch, flicking through channels on the TV. He watched the back of the blonde's head for a small while before Naruto decidedly turned, blue eyes gazing expectedly at the still masked raven.

_Don't mess with Naruto…_

Since when had Sasuke cared so much?

"Sasuke?"

No, since when had Sasuke stopped caring?

* * *

**See!? Sasuke does care! Or eventually will if I have anything to say about it! R&R PLEASE!**


	8. Chapter 7

**Sorry I'm late guys! School work blah blah! Got a long weekend now and handed in two of my assignments, so I'm cruisy for a while and up for probably updating two new chapters come Monday! Also, I'm starting a new SasuNaru fic called 'Glee Club'. You don't have to like or hate Glee or whatever, it's not about that! It's a highschool fic that involves a situation similar to Glee's! **

**Anyway! Here you go! Sorry if there are any mistakes, I beta'd late night.**

* * *

_Timeless_

_by ferriswheel95_

"_Naruto! Where did you go you total moron!?" Sasuke screamed out, trapped by the dark abyss that surrounded him. He was trudging in shin high water and even though everything was dark he knew it was tinted green. He was positive he was just with a whining Naruto not even five seconds ago, but as he turned one way while saying something, by the time he looked back Naruto was gone._

"_Naruto!" He tried again and that seemed to finally make things interesting. The ground rumbled beneath him and he frantically looked around for a chance of escape as it did so, when suddenly the rumbling ceased and a sloshing sound caught his attention. He spun around hurriedly and squinted into the darkness to see who or what was walking through the water. A glimpse of orange had him convinced._

"_Naru- … Wait…" He breathed, looking closer again. It was indeed Naruto but not the one he was now used to. The orange jacket was contrasted with a light blue rather than its usual black and the figure stood a great deal shorter. It was Naruto, but the young one. Regardless Sasuke felt the need to try again._

"_Naruto!" He yelled but once his echo faded and there was near silence amongst them, Sasuke noticed something else. Naruto was sobbing; albeit quietly and to what he obviously thought was himself but there was no mistaking it. Somehow Sasuke had moved unknowingly so he was directly behind Naruto now but still at an uncomfortably great distance. With each stiff sniffle and sob Sasuke felt his stomach knot and burn, the pain of his young teammate practically slapping the raven's body with anxiety and he could involuntarily do nothing but sympathise. There was a low growl that Sasuke's body recognised and he became tense. Just as he feared the bars of possibly the biggest cage in existence was illuminated in the darkness… And Naruto was walking straight for them._

"_Naruto stop…" Sasuke whispered, but Naruto didn't._

"_Naruto stop." He was louder this time, but Naruto still didn't. With another growl from the suddenly visible beast in the cage, water began to rise rapidly and Sasuke couldn't stand it any longer._

"_Naruto! Stop!" He cried, leaping forward and running for the young Naruto. Despite his best efforts the water engulfed him and he could no longer breathe. Bubbles from his mouth blinded him momentarily but he trained his eyes on Naruto who was only getting closer and closer to the cage. Further and further from Sasuke. He kicked furiously through the water but his chest tightened with each passing second of no air._

"_Naruto!"_

"Damn it Sasuke! What!?" Sasuke blinked a few times, gasping for air and feeling around him, feeling dry. He let out a sigh of relief, realising it was just a nightmare before he sat up on the futon that laid behind the couch that Naruto slept on and was currently leaning over the back of too glare sleepily at the Uchiha.

"What!?" Sasuke snapped, sitting up and glaring back and Naruto's own glare intensified. He somehow seemed scarier in the morning; Sasuke could only guess it was because he hadn't eaten in hours.

"Don't you _what_ me! Being creepy and calling out to me in your sleep!" Naruto huffed, cheeks flushed slightly as they are in the mornings and eyes red rimmed and still very tired looking. Sasuke simply 'tsked' before throwing the blanket off his and standing, heading for the kitchen.

"Where is Kakashi?" Sasuke called although there was little need to, the apartment was very small and everything could be seen from the lounge room, there were no doors only small walls that segregated the rooms from one another. Except the bathroom, which was connected to Kakashi's room.

_Fucked layout… _Sasuke mentally insulted the small apartment, taking his frustrations out on it.

"I don't know, guess he went out" Naruto shrugged, still looking over the back of the couch at Naruto. Sasuke frowned and opened the fridge, pulling out the small carton of milk and then looking up to the clock.

"It's only seven… He always kept us waiting until at least 9…" He muttered to himself before looking out the open window, the curtain flapping lightly from the breeze.

_Then where is he all the time between? _The Uchiha wondered. He was still for a few moments, glaring out the window in thought and Naruto could only watch, silent himself.

"Sa –" he started but his mouth snapped just when Sasuke hurriedly put the milk back in the fridge and then rushed around to collect his clothes. He changed into one of the clean blue undershirts he was given and slipped his arm covers on after, then threw his vest on haphazardly. He stepped quickly to the door and sat down to pull his sandals on.

"Sasuke? Where are you going!?" Naruto flung his blanket off and leapt over the back of the couch, catching Sasuke in the door way at the open door. The raven barely considered stopping.

"Seeing what Kakashi is doing" he answered simply and Naruto's eyes widened; in excitement of course. He panicked a little when Sasuke turned and stepped out the door.

"Hey! Hey! Wait for me asshole!" He called, rushing back into the lounge room to change as well but he knew Sasuke wasn't going to. He glanced to the side and saw their masks sitting on the small coffee table that sat between the couch and trivial TV. He grinned and grabbed both masks, heading to the door to wave them with a captivating grin.

"Hey! Can't go anywhere without this!" Sasuke glanced over his shoulder to humour the other and his onyx hues could only blink before he cursed under his breath and stomped grudgingly back to the apartment. Naruto, victorious as usual, leisurely made his way back to change. He was going to take his time now, make sure he looked good for the past ladies of Konoha!

* * *

Kakashi stood solemnly in front of the stone, names engraved and shouting at him; he could hear their cries and the cries of their loved ones. He could hear the cry of his team and his Sensei. His stomach twisted with regret and it wouldn't settle as usual until he spent a good hour or so with his new team – new family.

"Kaka-Sensei?" A deep voice breathed carefully and Kakashi turn, trying not to look as forlorn as he felt during his morning visits.

"Ah, good morning Naruto, Sasuke" Kakashi gave them a smile as he walked over to the two who stood a few metres away side by side. Kakashi finally took his time to notice their growth, Naruto filling out well and obviously more toned from what he could only guess was countless hours of vigorous training. He was even tanner which made the blonde mop he called hair even more sensational then what it was on the child. In contrast, Sasuke stood just as toned in their matching outfits but noticed he was of a slimmer build now, so it probably wasn't as prominent as it was on Naruto. His pale skin was creamy and seemed effortlessly faultless and of course his signature dark bangs still remained. They were longer now but not by an alarming extent and although he had the mask on, from what he had seen Kakashi knew they no longer simply framed the Uchiha's face but now somewhat hid it, though not enough so to be in his way.

"Is this why you're always late? You're here every morning?" Naruto frowned and seemed a little uncomfortable in the presence of the stone that stood not too far away. Kakashi could do nothing else but nod, not about to lie to his students, even more so his matured ones.

"I pay respects and I just get carried away… Every time" He slipped his hands in his pockets, as close to fidgeting as Kakashi Hatake got. Sasuke's scowl was dangerous behind his mask and he ignored the other two as he side stepped Kakashi and walked over to the stone, reading each name until he rested upon a cluster of Uchiha's. His fists clenched at his sides, not being able to have read this stone in years. An unfamiliar heat built behind his eyes when he realised another Uchiha should now be inscribed into the cold rock – his brother. Kakashi and Naruto watched him for a few moments before Naruto nodded, grinning although none could see.

"Sasukes' got the right idea!" He announced before stepping past Kakashi as well and standing beside his old teammate at the front of the stone. He gently nudged the raven with his shoulder, enough to make Sasuke raise his head slightly to see the idiot was right beside him, head bowed and in respectful silence. To his left was Kakashi, mimicking Naruto and finally Sasuke let himself ease and he too bowed his head, this time he would solely pay respects instead of vow revenge.

* * *

"You're late!" The usual chorus and even Naruto rolled his eyes this morning. Kakashi just smiled innocently.

"I was helping this old lady across the road and –"

"Save it!" Sakura huffed and crossed her arms across her chest, Naruto nodding eagerly behind her.

"Okay, okay. Well I just wanted to let you three know that today we're having a combined training session with the other two teams that were passed as Genin" Kakashi announced and the older Naruto nearly fell over. He didn't remember this, this was an alteration in their past. He glanced over to Sasuke who was obviously stiff with the same conclusion that Naruto had come to. The younger three looked a little stunned at first but then Naruto lead the mood as he bounced on his toes with excitement.

"This will be so cool! I'll finally be able to kick someone other than the teme's ass!" He grinned and Sasuke scoffed blatantly.

"Like you've ever kicked my ass, idiot." While the two argued and Sakura tried to intervene the older Sasuke stepped forward, mask and mouth close to his former teacher's ear.

"Kakashi, we've never sparred with the other teams before the Chunin Exam" he mumbled and the other seemed to be thoughtful for a second before he shrugged.

"It won't hurt… Besides, I was trying to help you two out, keeping an eye on all of them at once?" He offered and Sasuke could only sigh, seeing that it was already too late and the alterations had now been made. Naruto didn't stress either, not seeing the point because after all Kakashi was right about keeping an eye on them.

* * *

Once the argument wrapped up (wrapped up meaning Sakura knocked Naruto a good one upside the head to make him shut up), they all headed to the training grounds where they nostalgically passed as Genin. Around the three stumps sat, as expected, the other teams. Each of them looked as team 7 remembered them from the academy, of course they saw each other around town but rarely to any times did they speak. That's how it was for Naruto anyway.

"Well look what the cat dragged in" Kiba commented with a confident toothy grin as he turned to see team seven approached. Naruto growled back but a calming hand on his shoulder from Kakashi stopped him from spitting out anything nasty.

"Late as usual Kakashi" Kurenai looked stern and Kakashi shrunk a little like a kid in trouble.

"Sorry, sorry…" He bowed and the older two behind rolled their eyes.

"Who're they?" An inquisitive voice spoke from a top the middle stump. Sasuke and Naruto glanced up to see a frowning Shikamaru.

"We're uh… Practicals" Naruto explained and scratched the back of his head. Shikamaru, as expected by the older Sasuke, didn't seem to buy it.

"They're very good practicals, they'll both be giving you guys hints throughout the day" Asuma nodded and Sasuke's shoulders froze.

"No we won't" He snapped quickly, making even the older Naruto jump from the severe tone.

"Eh!? How come! You said you were really strong!" The young blonde whined but physically flinched away when he felt the intensity of the glare from behind the mask.

"We're not teaching anyone, anything" He hissed again and glanced between Naruto and Jonin. In a way Naruto knew it made sense but at the same time he saw it wasn't just altering the future that had Sasuke wound so tightly. Slowly he stepped over to Sasuke, everyone silent from the strong maliciousness that oozed from Sasuke.

"W-What Juugo is trying to say is he's just nervous about his first time teaching, I'll take you guys for some spars this afternoon, alright?" He was standing beside Sasuke now and even though it was hidden, he smiled. That lifted the mood some and a young Naruto whooped before Asuma started calling out pairs to break off into to spar. Sasuke's body relaxed, oddly initially from his wrist and then slowly the calmness pulsated from there. The older Uchiha leisurely looked down to see that at some point during his little explanation, Naruto had wrapped his fingers gently around his wrist in what he could only guess was an challenge was an effort to pull him from his abrupt fury. While his head was down and eyes fixated on the tan fingers of Naruto, the other leaned in close to his ear.

"I trust you." He whispered and Sasuke was suddenly rigid again.

"You won't hurt me, or the others. I trust you." He repeated and then before Sasuke had the chance to say much back, Naruto had stepped away. The tips of his fingers grazed along the pale wrist before they were gone, leaving the area cold and earning for their heated return. He scowled behind his mask and childishly huffed, crossing his arms. Naruto was an idiot; this whole situation was an idiot! Maybe that didn't make much sense but it was the damn truth!

"Come on Juugo, if you're not going to teach them anything, at least help supervise" Asuma called, standing near an eager Kiba and lazy Shikamaru. He walked over and Shikamaru yawned.

"Troublesome… I hate sparing"

"You hate anything that isn't sleeping or watching the clouds you lazy idiot!" Ino called from her match with Hinata, who was beside herself with nerves and red faced; as usual. Shikamaru simply rolled his eyes and Kiba stood ready.

"Go!" Asuma called and Kiba leapt into action. With a lethargic groan, Shikamaru poised himself for his own attack. His shadow stretched out from his feet and before Kiba even saw it, Shikamaru had technically won. The darkness snared the other in it's trap, both Kiba and Akamaru (who had been running alongside the other were both frozen.

"Hey! What the hell you ass!?" Kiba yelled, clearly his mouth wasn't constrained; how unfortunate. Shikamaru calmly walked closer to the other until they were only a foot apart.

"It's not my fault you literally ran straight into a jutsu" Shikamaru sighed as he put his hands on his tired hips.

"Hey Juugo, I don't know about you, but I'd say that Shikamaru has won, wouldn't you?" Asuma piped proudly, grin large and cigarette hanging from the all too proud mouth. Sasuke looked between all three and nodded.

"Aw c'mon! What would you know!?" Kiba hissed, the dog barking in chorus. Sasuke growled low in his throat and joined the two more closely.

"If this was a real battle, you would be dead Kiba" Sasuke reprimanded and because Shikamaru turned, so did Kiba, both looking meddlesome.

"How did you know my name?" The dog boy finally breathed after a few silent moments and not only did Sasuke freeze but Asuma behind him did as well. Thoughts jumped between the two older heads, desperately looking for a plausible answer.

"You honestly think they'd be coming here without knowing all of your files?" Asuma offered and Sasuke's shoulders fell again in relief. Kiba made an 'O' with his mouth before grinning.

"What's your name? I don't have your file!" He grinned and Sasuke physically cringed away from the boy who had been released from the shadow bind. He never liked Kiba, mainly because he didn't really like pets and that's all that Kiba reminded him off. An untrained puppy.

"Juugo" Kiba blinked again in realisation before he laughed lightly.

"Oh that's right, other guy said your name earlier" he rattled on and Sasuke tuned out, letting his gaze wander under he was caught under Shikamaru's. The brunette with the ridiculous (or so Sasuke thought) spikey ponytail was glaring heatedly at him, scrutiny dripping from his eyes.

"Why do you wear masks?" Sasuke's shoulders lifted defensively.

"Why don't you ask Kakashi? He does the same, don't see you being so suspicious of him" His voice was deliberately low, hoping that it was dark enough to detour the genius from any further questions.

"Suspicious? Why would you say I'm suspicious? Do I have a reason to be?" Sasuke was starting to lose it. He just wanted to knock the upstart a good one to the neck and knock him out, that'd stop him from questioning the time travellers intent.

"Hey come on Shikamaru, what's gotten into you?" Asuma scolded with a frown and for a small moment embarrassment flashed through the student's eyes for being reprimanded.

"Troublesome" and with that he let the questions be, for now.

"Quit it Naruto!" A shrill voice yelled and abruptly attention was on the pinkette and her team.

"You're so frustrating!" She flailed her arms at the blonde boy that sat in front of her, cross legged and armed with a bruising cheek and eye. Young Sasuke stood not far behind him next to the older Naruto, looking just as annoyed but noticeably less bruised.

"Looks like this sparing thing wasn't such a good idea…" Asuma grunted with a scratch to the back of his neck.

"Hn…" Sasuke sighed, precariously placing a deflated hand on his irritated hip.

* * *

Roughly a few hours after everyone had settled into the rotations of the sparing partners (and the actual fights had been settle with a helping fist from Sakura) it was finally time for a break. The rookie nine sat around, pulling out their bento for lunch but most looked too exhausted to eat.

"Just you wait forehead, I'll take you on next and kick your ass!" A confident Ino confided in her 'best friend' while sitting beside her.

"You wish Ino pig!" Sakura snapped back and the older Naruto's stomach fluttered with sincere nostalgia, he was suddenly warm and smiling idiotically behind the mask. A noise from nearby caught his and everyone else's attention. They turned to see the younger Naruto sitting empty handed and stomach growling in protest. The blonde flushed in embarrassment and likewise for the older one, both self-conscious of the circumstances although the elder no need be, he brought his bento after all. Only though, because at this age he knew how to make one.

"N-Naruto-kun… D-Did y-you forget y-your lunch?" The shy Hinata stammered out, making Naruto only flush more.

"U-Uh! Yeah!" He nodded, that situation being less embarrassing than enlightening the fact that he just didn't know how to make himself such specialty foods.

"It's fine! Yeah! I'll just have some ramen when I get home!" He grinned sheepishly while scratching the back of his neck as habit.

"Idiot, why is it always us having to feed you?" Sasuke bit out, holding out his bento to the wide eyed and seemingly very thankful Naruto. That Naruto only lasted a maximum of 3 seconds.

"Asshole! That was one time! And I wasn't allowed, not because I forgot! Although… It would be nice to have Sakura feed me again. The pinkette blushed.

"No way!" She denied.

"Just have some of mind, moron, or you won't even be worth the spar" Sasuke offered but his tone held a forced annoyance. The elder Sasuke set down his chopsticks, too horrified by his younger self's compassion for his team. Now it only disgusted, to watch himself be held back by such weak feelings and his fists curled with his frustration. Before anymore of the circumstances could be thought of, the second masked figure had stood and held his own bento out to Naruto.

"I can't take tha –"

"Just take it" The elder blonde's voice was low and forceful, shocking his younger counterpart just enough to reach out and take the lunch.

"Thanks, I guess" he muttered under his breath and then happily digging in and joining the rest. Older Naruto took his seat back next to Sasuke, but he quiet and unmoving which unnerved his temporary partner. He pushed away the itching urge to ask Naruto what it was that put him in the sour mood, he knew better than to get involved in the affairs of the blonde's emotions after so many years. That, and for some reason, he felt as if he didn't want to know. After all, what could possibly shake up the blonde so quickly? He glanced around, unconsciously looking for the answer before his eyes caught exactly what it was.

Oh that's right…

_Himself._

* * *

**Enjoy! R & R! **


	9. Chapter 8

**Hey everyone, sorry for that late update. Computer problems, school work. Blah, blah, usual excuses.**

**I haven't read throught this one very well, just wanted to get it up for everyone so I'm sorry if theres any grammatical errors and what not. **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

_Timeless_

_by FerrisWheel95_

By the end of the day's training session, each of the rookie nine were heavy on the ground exhausted and sore. They all looked pretty fed up with sparing and each round seemed like it was over. All of course except one. Naruto and Sasuke stood, sweating and panting but at least on their feet, neither giving up. Naruto was profusely more bruised but his stamina kept him standing and while Naruto might not have scored as many hits, Sasuke was looking as equally physically wrecked.

"Idiot, if I was allowed to kill you by now then I would have! Just give up already!" Sasuke called and Naruto shook his head.

"Would not have asshole!" The blonde called back and the rest groaned.

"Come on guys! I don't want to be stuck here all day!" Chouji yelled, sitting next to Ino who was between himself and Shikamaru.

"Yeah! This is ridiculous! Naruto, just give up already! You're not going to win against Sasuke-kun!" Ino growled, sick of watching the blonde taking hit after hit but still frustratingly staying on his feet.

"Where was all this stamina when we we're fighting Haku, dobe?" Sasuke breathed out, only for Naruto. The blonde grit his teeth and ran for Sasuke again, fist raised. Wordlessly his punch was deflected by the other and he was granted retaliation right in the gut. The blonde coughed and his eyes squinted tightly closed from the pain. He fell forward from the blow, his knees buckling and head light. Though he braced for it, he never hit the ground, a pair of strong hands had caught him and held him up by his shoulders. After blinking a couple of times at the feet of his saviour, Naruto looked up and blushed at the close proximity they were at.

"Juugo?" He breathed out but the mask remained unmoving as Naruto steadied himself on his feet. The elder Sasuke stepped aside to reveal a younger seething one, obviously pissed about their interruption.

"That's enough" 'Juugo' ordered and as expected no one objected although from the look on Sasuke's face, he very clearly wanted to.

"You're just getting boring, it's ridiculous and you two aren't even showing technique anymore. You look pathetic" he said lowly, as if he was embarrassed for himself like Naruto was earlier. Though it was a different sort of embarrassment, it resembled something closer to shame. The younger Sasuke didn't like the elder's interjection or his words, after all he had never even seen this guy in action; he was probably just as sloppy as he reprimanded Sasuke for being! Who did he think he was anyway? To try and act as if he was all better than Sasuke when he hadn't even fought him himself! He'd show him…

Sasuke's hand slipped down into his Kunai pouch and he slipped his finger through the ring and then without a word he aimed and threw it aiming for 'Juugo'. He had intended to physically attack him straight after but it was pointless, everything happened so fast. Sasuke only got his fist so much as raised before he felt a sharp sting against his cheek and as he went to touch the offending tingle he was greeted by a sudden mask in his face. His knee jerk reaction was to gasp but of course he didn't have time to as his breath was jerked from him and his throat was seized. The young raven growled and clawed at the wrist of his attacker as he was lifted from the ground. For a moment everything was still and then he heard the clunk of the Kunai that 'Juugo' retaliated with hit the trunk of a tree not too far behind.

The crowd gulped and stared wide eyed at the two, some not even catching what happened.

"Sasuke!" A young Naruto yelled in fright, watching his teammate being so easily manhandled made his stomach churn.

"You think that you're better than me? Is that really how you so wrongly judged the situation?" 'Juugo' breathed deeply to Sasuke and the young raven flinched. If he wanted to say anything he couldn't.

"So naïve, you're lucky I didn't kill you on instinct, which is exactly what I have for people that throw kunai at my head…" His tone was lowering darkly with each word until his voice was rough and he squeezed the other's throat making his cough.

"Hey! Cut it out!" Asuma called, stalking over to break it up confidently but Sasuke ignored him. His grip only tightened and the younger's eyes clenched shut, his lips starting to tint blue before…

"Sasuke!" A voice called, muffled by a mask. The older Sasuke's entire body went stiff and he reluctantly turned to see a young Naruto and then his older counterpart standing behind him. His rage drained and his grip loosened considerably and finally after a few agonisingly silent moments he tossed his younger self towards the young blonde. Young Naruto reached out and caught his teammate before he could hit the ground and his elder self supported him as well so he sat slowly with the raven in his arms rather than tumble and land on his ass.

"Sasuke…" Naruto breathed quietly as he looked down to the gasping rave, bruises already forming around his neck. Instinctively Naruto softly the tips of his fingers along the marks against the neck while a protective rage built inside him. His head shot up to glare at the masked man and his lungs braced themselves for an onslaught of insults, he stopped however when his older self placed a sluggish hand a top of his head and ruffled his blonde locks.

"Good catch" He whispered. With that the moment between the four was gone and they were disturbed by basically everyone else.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura bawled as she hurried over to aid her 'love'. Ino followed closely behind, of course declaring her love just as profusely – if not more – than Sakura did.

"That was incredible!"

"Did you see how fast he was!?"

"I-Is S-Sasuke-kun a-a-alright?"

"He just so easily, like wham! Wham!" Kiba flaunted with an equally excited Chouji, Hinata and Shino just by for support. Shikamaru sat shaking and glaring at the criminal masked figure who stood unfazed, as if he didn't just brutally assault or almost kill Sasuke. His body trembled at the thought that someone could be so ruthless and he came to the conclusion that their teams were far too sheltered. Shikamaru's glare followed to the second masked figure, wondering why he didn't step in to stop his teammate, same with the teachers! Except for Asuma, who did after he eventually had enough.

Sasuke's eyes at last parted and he flinched when he saw everyone crowding around him, in a way it was more suffocating then the hand that was around his throat. They all ranted, getting closer when they saw he was awake and struggle he might, Sasuke wasn't getting away.

"That was quite a show, Sasuke-kun" The elder Sasuke turned to the smooth voice. The scarecrow stared at him with a half assed attempt at a smile. Sasuke just grunted and looked back to the flock of young Genin that crowded his younger equivalent. His chest tightened and he couldn't help but clench his fists in his frustrations.

_Acting like they care…_ He snarled mentally, his being suddenly hot with rage again. He had the urge to attack and slice at them all before he was cooled by the sight of a serene looking blonde, who although was hidden behind the mask, had the expression of calm nostalgia.

"It's amazing really, to see you so hot headed and him so calm… He really learnt how to handle you" Kakashi wasn't sure if he was heard, Sasuke seemingly too transfixed on watching his partner help his younger self to his feet and begrudgingly ruffle his hair.

"Screw off" young Sasuke grumbled to the masked man that dared to touch him, let alone touch his hair!

"Who're you telling to screw off asshole?" The blonde's placid nature returning to the more familiar and headstrong one.

"Do you want to get your ass kicked again!? Stop being such an asshole!" Young Naruto whined, only to have Sasuke and Sakura glare.

"Shut up Naruto!" The pinkette cried, cracking Naruto across the head with a chiding fist.

* * *

Heavy sandals clapped along the path out of sync, silence thick between the two as they walked, the older of them particularly nervous at their aloneness. Konoha was cast under a light orange tint as the sun set behind the Hokage monument and its streets were quietly abuzz with citizens forwarding home for work.

"You don't have to walk me home, I'm fine" a gruff raven grunted to the other beside him. An elder Naruto grinned behind the mask before shaking his head.

"Its fine, Kakashi-sensei's orders after all! He's just worried and wants to make sure you're okay. You were nearly choked to death after all" he laughed light heartedly, like it was casual conversation but he stopped when he saw the younger flinch slightly at the mention and a frustrated look settled on his features. Naruto felt as if he should apologise but he knew better than too even try with this Sasuke, so he quietly shoved his hands in his pockets, as if none of that just happened.

"You know, he was right. Juugo that is… You shouldn't just go attacking strange ninja out of nowhere" the blonde tried again, too nervous for silence so he scratched the back of his neck. Sasuke turned and glared at him and his stepping stopped with a loud clunk, Naruto walked a few more paces before he stopped to turn back to the other.

"Sasu –"

"Shut up. I don't trust either of you, so don't try and be all friendly with advice and shit" Sasuke growled and pulled out a kunai. Naruto cringed and looked around, seeing there were no residents on this road. Who was he kidding, it was the road to the Uchiha compound, of course there wouldn't be.

"What did I just say about attacking random ninja that you haven't assessed yet, jerk!?" Naruto whined with his hands up defensively but it seemed to only anger the other further. The raven grit his teeth and he tossed it, the blade landing and digging itself into the ground at Naruto's (who didn't even bother to glance down) feet.

"Who do you think you are to sit there and be nervous around me, lecturing me, calling me a jerk…? Huh!? Who do you think you are!?" Sasuke's eyes were wide and his breathing uneven, he was seething like he usually did when he didn't understand something, when he couldn't put two and two together. It angered the otherwise genius Uchiha, too feel normal was unfamiliar. Naruto remained unmoving until he lowered his hands and then his body to pick up the Kunai and Sasuke let him.

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to make you uncomfortable" his voice was quiet and he looked to the Kunai in his hand before holding it out for Sasuke to take. The raven was hesitant at first but slowly he reached for the blade and slipped it back into it's pouch, his dark eyes unmoving from Naruto's mask. The blonde shifted nervously under the penetrating gaze, then, uncharacteristically, Sasuke's eyes softened.

"You have blue eyes…" Naruto recoiled from the soft tone and he spun on his heel, his back to the Uchiha.

"S-So!?" He spluttered out nervously, still feeling the heat of the Uchiha's stare at the back of his head. The blonde could practically feel Sasuke analysing him with his hues, taking in every inch of him, catching each twitch and watching every breath.

"It's nothing…" Instantly Naruto relaxed at the dismissal and he watched as Sasuke strolled past, still looking frustrated. Naruto laughed heartily.

"Thank god, I thought you were going to knife me! Why are you so suspicious, asshole? I'm just a prac!" He laughed, walking after the raven with a relieved grin before he was made to halt. Looking down at the other (who had stopped right in his way) Naruto opened his mouth to ask what was wrong but was cut short with a quick fist to the face, sending the blonde to the ground.

"Why are you copying Naruto?!" Sasuke's knee was pressed against Naruto's fallen chest and a Kunai to his throat, but the knee was trembling and the Kunai held loosely. Sasuke's expression was desperate, searching the carvings of Naruto's mask for an answer that he himself otherwise couldn't find.

"W-What are you talking about asshole!?" Naruto spluttered out, nervous now but not feeling at all threatened. Then his body froze, his mind whirling and he 'tsk'ed before turning his head to the side, looking anywhere but the Uchiha's face.

"What, just because I call you asshole? I'm sure a lot of people call you that, 'cause you are!" Naruto huffed and Sasuke's glared darkened and he balled his fist for another attack and Naruto could only brace himself for it, not wanting to alarm the other with his impressive skills! (Yes, he thought he was just that good). Instead though, the punch not only hurt it moved something and Naruto felt a cool breeze grace his cheek. His heart raced and he panicked, throwing the younger completely off him though he landed gracefully. Naruto scrambled to his feet, head down the entire time to hide his face while one hand ran along the ground to search for his mask.

"Looking for this?" A cool voice called from behind and Naruto stupidly (he would argue instinctively) turned for the mask. The air suddenly became hot and Naruto's cheeks flushed, his breathing ragged and his eyes wide. Not as wide however, as Sasuke's. The young Uchiha dropped the mask he had held victoriously but the hand still hung there, his body to stiff from shock to move in any way. His eyes roamed over Naruto's face, the familiar smile, eyes, hair, jawline, and marks on his cheeks. The blonde fidgeted suddenly, stumbling over his words to look for an explanation but jolted silent when he saw Sasuke's mouth open and hang before closing, only to open again.

"Kakashi!" The raven screamed, bending at the knees to leap off for help.

"Shit! Sasuke! Shut up!" Naruto jumbled for the raven, pressing a firm hand over the raven's mouth from behind and pinning his arms behind his back by the wrists with the other. Sasuke kicked and struggled violently but Naruto had the obvious advantage, thought the raven couldn't see that and continued to struggle. Naruto cursed and looked around for any witnesses before he swiftly struck a pressure point in the other's neck, sending him into a dark and unconscious state.

* * *

To say that Sasuke was mad was an understatement. His wrath was vicious and Sharingan driven. Naruto, Kakashi, the Hokage, Asuma and Sasuke stood in front of a younger knocked out raven, strapped by arms and legs to a chair that was bolted firmly to the ground, this dark room of course being more often used for interrogation. Naruto panicked after he had dealt with Sasuke and quickly headed for the Hokage tower with the younger in his arms. The Third decided it was best to keep Sasuke under surveillance before and when he woke up and then promptly called the others. All of them had some explaining to do.

Sasuke however, wanted to explain nothing. He wanted to kill Naruto.

"If he doesn't kill you then I just fucking might!" He screamed, glad the room was sound proof. The blonde suddenly found himself struggling against the tight hold Sasuke had on his Jonin vest.

"Sasuke! I didn't mean too!"

"I don't give a fuck if you didn't mean to - you did! You're such a screw up!" Naruto flinched against the remark and his eyes were wide. He dared to let his gaze wander beyond Sasuke's shoulder and to the younger one strapped to the chair. Instantly his stomach clenched and he squeezed his eyes shut.

_Screw up. Screw up. Screw up._

"I know! –" He threw Sasuke's hands away from his vest and stumbled back, falling against the wall. "I know I'm a screw up alright!" He yelled again before pausing to glimpse to Kakashi's sad expression and his already tight stomach twisted in a guilty uncomfortable heat. His mouth hung open, wanting to say more but clicked shut, his mind blank of anything other than apologies and regrets.

"Naruto…" Kakashi started, unsure of what to say, or how to comfort his obviously distressed student. At his name Naruto perked to catch Kakashi's eyes but when nothing followed his head bowed, eyes low and their usual vibrant blue burnt into a dark sadness. The blonde slid down the wall on his back and then sat. Sasuke watched Naruto wilt and become this small, dejected being and his own heat formed in the pit of his remorseful stomach. Before anything could be exchanged further, a low groan emitted from the middle of the room and suddenly all eyes were on the awakening Sasuke. Naruto pushed himself to his feet but stayed against the wall, the older Sasuke turned and watched his younger self firstly stir and then familiar dark hues open firstly open to slits and then after a few confused moments, burst into saucers.

"Kakashi? Asuma?" He frowned then turned his confusion to the Hokage that stood not too far behind them. "What the… Where am I? What happened?" He pulled against his restraints, softly to start with and then more violently when he realised they weren't going to easily budge. His glared at his superiors before he heard a shuffle come from the left side of him, his head snapped sharply and his memories flooded back when his eyes held aware blue hues.

"You!" He hissed and Naruto flinched, Sasuke only continued to struggle to no avail but froze when he finally saw an extremely acquainted looking teen. The older remained unmoving and uncaring while the younger Sasuke's eyes were wide, showing every confused emotion swimming through onyx eyes.

"Please don't scream…" Naruto started, only to earn a glare from the older Sasuke.

"As if I would, moron!"

"You did when you saw me earlier, you asshole!"

"What's going on?" Young Sasuke interjected, albeit calmly but his voice shook with a clarity as clear as mud. Once again Naruto's mouth hung low, unsure of how to explain or even if he should but then the Hokage stepped forward and everyone new that he would decide.

* * *

"So you're from the future, accidentally sent back in time… And protecting Naruto and everyone close to him… But you didn't want us to know, in case you changed the future… And you can't change the future because… You're too strong to change it?" Sasuke whispered. It had taken nearly an hour and a half to completely keep the raven calm enough to start explaining the situation and because Sasuke was who he was, he needed every minor detail and element of the situation. He was freed of his binds about half way through, after he promised not to run, fight or attack anyone in the room.

"Yeah, that's pretty much it" Naruto scratched the back of his head and Sasuke stood from his seat and began pacing, his face scrunched with thought before he stopped and glared at Naruto.

"But you're not even that strong! I knocked your mask off after all, so why is this guy after you?" He growled and Naruto shifted little nervously, a pink tint across his cheeks and nose.

"I am strong! Y-You just caught me by surprise!" He whined and suddenly the raven looked suspicious.

"Really? Or are you lying to us? Is this guy really after me or something?" Suddenly the others seemed to have the same question radiating from their beings. Naruto's body tensed and he could only frown, he was able to show the true extent of his powers just to prove them wrong and get his ego back. He glanced to Sasuke who was indifferent and for the first time since he had been in the past, he suddenly felt whirled back in time. A time where it was all about Sasuke.

"It's not me. It's him. That guy has no desire to kill me…" The raven muttered and Naruto's eyes dulled when he realised Tobi and Sasuke were partners the last time he saw him, even so he knew he could trust Sasuke. Although the raven had a habit for swapping sides as casually as eating breakfast, he knew Sasuke wouldn't let Tobi kill him. He knew he could trust Sasuke to understand the situation would not be in his favour if Naruto were to die earlier than planned, after all that would surely affect the young Sasuke as well. Finally the younger Sasuke deflated and he sat down on the seat, his hands holding his aching head.

"There is no way this is real…" He whispered.

"Well it is and you can't tell the others… Nothing can be changed Sasuke, do you understand?" Kakashi pressed seriously, the two locking intense looks. Then slowly, painstakingly…

Sasuke nodded.

* * *

**R&R Please! The more reviews, the quicker I update, honestly! :)**


	10. Chapter 9

**Is this considered a quick update? I hope so... Sorry for any grammar and spelling mistakes blah, blah... I probably should take up a beta I just... I don't know, I like to mark my own stuff? Sob! Anyway, here you go!**

* * *

_Timeless_

_by ferriswheel95_

By the time they left the interrogation wing of the Konoha Holding Building it was dark. Naruto stretched his arms above his head and yawned, his and Sasuke's masks back in place and the younger Sasuke looking tired and still very disgruntled. A dark cloud hung below the stars and darkened the already black sky; the blonde inhaled the sweet wet scent that hung in the air before a storm. He stepped forward and turned around, grinning behind his mask at the two. Both of course looking completely indifferent, a guy like Sasuke Uchiha certainly didn't need a mask. With a deep inhale Naruto began.

"So what do you guys want to d –" but with that the older Uchiha disappeared in a blurry flash, leaving Naruto and the younger one again.

"Aw come on! You asshole!" Naruto called to the sky after Sasuke. It was for show though and Naruto was surprised that Sasuke wasn't trying to put more of one on. If anything he was acting even less like a teammate than usual and it had to have young Sasuke guessing. Speaking of which, he looked to the young Uchiha, the boy's eyes were downcast to his feet and his were hands in his pockets.

"Looks like its just you and me again…" He laughed nervously, unconsciously mimicking his young idol by putting his own hands in his pockets. Thunder clapped in the sky above them and triggered the first light patter of rain fall but neither cared; Sasuke too deep in thought and Naruto staring to the sky as if it was pouring life's answers to him. He held a hand out and let himself be drenched before he felt a tight grip on his wrist, pulling him as the rain got heavier. Naruto glanced to watch Sasuke, determination painted all over his features. They stopped not that far down the road, under a tree that barely provided any cover from the sudden heavy down pour.

"Naruto…" Sasuke called out over the swishing sound of the rain. Naruto glanced down to the young raven and his heart clenched painfully. Sasuke looked so sad and disappointed and Naruto knew why, the kid was disappointed in himself. Disappointed with what sort of teammates had become.

"Naruto… I –" He paused, glancing down bashfully for a few seconds before forcing his head back up, unwavering again. "You're my teammate and I don't know what's wrong with me now, well the future me… But…" He started again but then lost his voice in embarrassment once more. Naruto moved to be on his knees, allowing himself be slightly shorter than the other, knowing it would give this Sasuke (the older one already oozing it) the confidence to continue to speak what was on his mind and that was something Naruto desperately wanted to hear right now… He needed to hear it. He needed to know what Sasuke kept bottled up for all these years; otherwise it would forever tear at his insides, emotionally eating him from the inside out. For some reason it was comforting to know that Sasuke (while he may not have been able to do it to the younger one) was able to open himself to him. He was right about the confidence booster and Sasuke's eyes became steely and steadfast despite the biting cold rain and the emotional turmoil he was sure to be internally suffering right now.

"But I need you to know, if you don't already –" Naruto's eyes widened and his heart raced, 4 long years of anticipation bursting inside his chest. Everything moved slowly when Sasuke dared to reach up, taking Naruto's mask and pulling it off, revealing the needy face of his older teammate. Both were drenched, their hair flat and stuck to their foreheads and their clothes bitterly cold. Sasuke dropped the mask between them and if it was possible, Naruto's expression became even more anxious for what he knew Sasuke was about to say, for the acceptance he always hoped and imagined he had from the raven but never truly knew he had.

"I need to… Get stronger Naruto. You're stronger than me right now if what you're saying is true… If that's the case then I want the future to change! I have to kill him Naruto! My brother…" He ranted and Naruto's heart shattered. No acceptance, no vouch of best friends…

Rejection. Hurt, pain and rejection.

_My brother…_

His eyes watered when he thought to Itachi, to their future and to Sasuke's obvious determinations.

"Naruto?" He heard Sasuke call, obviously wanting some sort of reaction and Naruto wasn't sure which one was the right one. He was sure he was unmoving, same wide eyes and expecting expression before finally he trembled and his face fell to join the rain that poured down his face, mixing with the tears that overflowed, he didn't bother to fight the heat behind his eyes. Before Sasuke could question Naruto again the blonde cracked, tears of heart ache and built up despair falling in front of the one that caused it all; this was the beginning of his hurt. He threw his arms around the surprised raven but Sasuke didn't move, though he stood stiff for a few quick moments before he relaxed into the embrace, not being totally emotionally stunted to not know when to give comfort. Silently Naruto let his tears fall and rest on the raven's already wet shoulder.

"I know Sasuke" his voice was raspier than normal, breaking under emotional strain, "I know you have to… It's okay… I know" he breathed over and over. His entire body shook with the pressure of trying so hard not to outwardly sob against Sasuke and secretly he hoped that the younger would mistake it for cold shivers. All he could think about was the loss of Sasuke, of his best friend, his everything at this point. All he could think about was the pain and how he would still have to endure that agony, a pain that Naruto could unfortunately reviled death. He wanted to say so much to him, how he shouldn't kill his brother because really he was just looking out for Sasuke, how he should stay with him and get strong in Konoha if he really needed to, how he should skip the Chunin Exam this year and never meet Orochimaru.

He felt a hand sit softly on his back and then followed by another, then a silent reciprocal embrace that would be shared with no one else in the pouring stormy whether.

_I want to tell him I love him…_

* * *

The front door flew open, hitting the wall behind it with a large crack making both nin that were already inside jump. Sasuke was sitting at the table with tea and Kakashi on the couch, it didn't matter what they were doing though because all that seemed to matter now was the drenched blonde standing in the door way. He stormed in, stripping himself as he did so, first of his vest, then of his shirt. He headed for where he knew his dry jumpsuit would be. If he was going to do this he had to be comfortable.

"What's wrong Naruto?" Kakashi pressed, standing and following his student around as he undressed then redressed into his usual attire. Naruto was silent, either too deep in thought to hear Kakashi or just not wanting to answer him. Once he was dressed he grabbed the nearest pack and emptied it of it's old contents, refilling it with new supplies. Finally Sasuke's interest was caught, the raven stood and headed to stand in the door way, where Naruto was currently heading back for.

"Where do you think you're going?" Sasuke said lowly, his dark glare seeming to try and combust Naruto into flames but this time Naruto had no intention of cowering. He stood firm and glared back, not trying to match his intensity but at the same time not feeling it.

"I'm going to find Tobi" no sooner had the words left his mouth that Sasuke scoffed.

"And do what by yourself? You'll be killed. I know you weren't alone when you were fighting him, so why try now?" He hissed and Naruto stiffened before he shook his head with resolve.

"I'm not alone…" He breathed, resting a hand over his stomach.

_I'm with you, Naruto _Kyuubi reassured from the depths of Naruto's mind. Naruto nodded and opened his eyes (which he hadn't known he had shut) to stare at Sasuke, mentally willing the raven to move.

"Naruto, are you sure this is wise?" Kakashi asked from behind him and Naruto turned, giving him a determined nod. Silence fell between the two and finally he turned back to Sasuke and swung the pack over his shoulder, ready to leave.

"You'll die" Sasuke tried, voice suddenly desperate but desperation was not what Naruto need right now and hardly what he wanted. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes before he pushed Sasuke out of the way.

"Since when do you care?" Sasuke didn't move, strong even as he was pushed though now his stomach clenched. Naruto was right, since when did he care? He couldn't give a fuck if Naruto ran off now and got himself killed, it would be one less problem out of the way and then he wouldn't have to deal with protecting damned brats.

"Move damn it asshole!" Naruto yelled, his voice breaking into something darker, his eyes narrowing as he shoved the raven his hardest, sending him sliding along the ground out the doorway. Naruto stepped out calmly after him, red eyes glowering down at the Uchiha and instantly Sasuke was on his feet, ready to defend. Thought, the Kyuubi's chakra wasn't as it normally was and soon the blood red drained from his eyes to settle into the usual blue. Kakashi was out after them in a hurry, standing between the bewildered looking Sasuke and angry Naruto.

"Since when –"

"Could I safely use Kyuubi's chakra? Since we became friends" Naruto offered, hoping to give Sasuke some sort of comfort with the knowledge of how far his power had extended since their last clash, although now it was Kakashi's turn to be puzzled.

"You can control Kyuubi now?" He asked and slowly Naruto nodded but with a frown, he was wary of giving too much away and also he didn't enjoy the fact that Kakashi suggested it was control. It was a mutual sharing of power, Kurama let him harness it. When silence befell them all once again, Naruto took it as cue to take his leave.

"Look I'm sure Tobi is just as desperate to get back to the future as we are…" Naruto turned and started to head off, Kakashi complacent with knowing that obviously nothing he could say would change the resolute blonde's mind, though Sasuke seemed less thrilled by the idea.

"I'll wonder where you are" he called after Naruto; the blonde didn't stop so Sasuke continued.

"The younger me, he'll wonder where you've gone. You're not the only one dependant –" he was silenced when Naruto raised his hand, still not turning around. Slowly the hand fell back down to the strap of his pack and he turned deliberately, a bright grin graced his lips – so wide that his eyes scrunched to resemble a fox.

"Then just tell him, I'll be back" the grin faltered slightly, "and that I'm doing this for him, make sure you protect everyone… You big jerk" and in a flash Naruto was gone. Sasuke stood slackly, gut churning and face hot. His fists clenched by his sides and he felt as though he should chase after the idiot.

_I'm doing this for him… _Sasuke closed his eyes, drowned in memories of Naruto. From when they were friends to their sickening miserable battle at the valley of end and further to the sick chase of friend after friend. Since when did Naruto do something that wasn't for Sasuke, everything he did was for Sasuke.

"Hn. Idiot" he scoffed to the side, accidentally catching Kakashi's hard stare and raising his eyebrows in question.

"What?"

"I feel as though… You two aren't as close as teammates of three years should be…" His voice was calm but definitely sad, the guilt and let down that shone through his one visible eye was more simply evident, it practically radiated. Then finally Sasuke felt as if he could no longer hide it.

"We're not…" And with that Kakashi turned, hands in pockets as he headed inside and uncharacteristically silent for the rest of the night.

* * *

"Good morning everyone"

"You're late!" The usual.

Sasuke sat back quietly for that day of training and D ranked missions. His mind wandered as he gazed to the clouds from beneath a shady tree. He hated to admit it, but he was worried for Naruto. His stomach twisted each time he thought of the blonde and just what might happen if he took on Madara alone, his head bowed at the thought and he longed for him just to be back already, but noted that he had only been gone a night. Sighing, Sasuke stood and headed over to the team. Naruto was wary of him, especially after what he had done to Sasuke yesterday but the elder raven ignored him, looking at the younger blonde counterpart only made him sicker.

_What am I doing? Being this worked up over the idiot… He'll be fine… _Sasuke froze and shook his head.

_I mean my future will be fine._ He corrected, not allowing himself to be deluded into thinking that these feelings were for Naruto, though they were for the blonde they were a longing for him to succeed so he would still be as powerful as he is now and not have his thriving future changed. Although…

_Itachi… _Sasuke growled and kicked a pebble before looking up and glaring over tree tops to the Hokage tower, his eyes burning and yearning for the village elders to spontaneously combust just from his stare. He had to admit, it took a lot of will to not jump the Third when the raven first saw him, but he knew that his future was at stake and he knew that the old man would have only played the most minimal roll to his clan's massacre and to Itachi's pain.

"Juugo-san" a soft voice rang and Sasuke looked down, captured by emeralds. Innocent, loving – murderous emeralds. Sasuke had to give it to Sakura, for working up the courage to try and take his life but once again she let him down miserably.

"Hn." He grunted in recognition, she seemed nervous around him today, he glanced to his younger self and wondered if he had talked but of course, he of all people knew he wouldn't.

"Uhm, we were just wondering where Sai-san was?" She asked and Sasuke repressed a shiver, hearing her say his replacement's name. He remembered the first time he saw his look alike and the first time he saw the aged Sakura. He was overwhelmed with disgust.

"Yeah, did you kill him or something?" Naruto muttered but it was quietly to himself and behind the young Sasuke, though the elder caught it and realised that he was correct in his assumption that the blonde now feared him. Sasuke looked between Kakashi and Sakura and discretely glanced to his younger self, seeing the pressing expression on his face as well.

"He's out on a mission, he should be back soon enough" He was smooth but because young Sasuke knew the truth he still felt uncomfortable under the lie, he could almost see it in his eyes.

_What mission? Where is he? Is he safe? Is this guy coming for us? Did he go after the guy? _He knew they could only be a few and probably the most important of questions that bounced around the young Uchiha's mind, Sasuke could see it – he knew it.

"Ah I see, that's good" Sakura smiled sweetly, as if she was trying to impress and Sasuke bit back the urge to scoff at her.

_You're not so sweet with a poisoned Kunai…_

The day pressed on and unknowingly under Naruto's influence, Sasuke spent the day giving pointers, suggestions and advice to his young ex- teammates. He had to admit, to feel a part of something more stable than the four man hawk team was refreshing but then again, he guessed it wasn't so stable. Thanks to him… The two of them exchanged glances during the rest of the training session, the younger's were interrogative and questioning while older Sasuke's were dismissive, with no intention of revealing anything near the information that was revealed last night.

* * *

"Teme, what is it with you and that guy?" Naruto asked as they walked at the end of the day. Sasuke felt the deja-vu with the orange lighting, empty streets, hot weather and naïve blonde. The raven grunted and slipped his hands in his pockets, glancing off to the side. In all honesty he wanted to tell Naruto about the older two so the blonde would be on high alert for his own safety.

"Aw come on, don't just grunt at me! You two seem to really hate each other!" Naruto whined and Sasuke glanced back to him, his breath hitching so softly that the other wouldn't notice and abruptly Sasuke stopped, staring dejectedly at the young blonde in front of him. Worried, Naruto stopped as well a little ahead of Sasuke and frowned at him, itching to ask what was wrong but the look on the raven's face left him speechless.

"Do those two, Juugo and Sai… Do you think they're really partners?" Sasuke forced out, he would never accept anyone else's opinion on the situation other than Naruto's so (even if he was an idiot) he'd rather get it sooner than later. Naruto's frown deepened and while he was quiet for a few moments his expression finally shifted into something more contemplative, he put his hands on his hips and pursed his lips, moving them from side to side as he thought. The expression fell, a sign he had come to a conclusion and he nodded.

"Sai seems to really know how to handle Juugo and even though Juugo seems like a total ass, Sai doesn't seem to mind… Uh, does that mean they've known each other for a long time or just know each other well?.. Mah! I don't know! But yeah, they seem like partners to me, they just fit well…" Sasuke stood silent with widened eyes as Naruto rambled, since when did such an idiot get such a good grasp on a situation so quickly? Maybe he always had… Maybe he just hadn't noticed it and maybe Naruto really was so strong to have such dangerous enemies in the future. Naruto waited patiently for the other, his instinct telling him from the other's expression not to press the question too quickly. Sasuke's mouth opened, going dry instantly with his next question so it clicked shut again, he glanced to the ground and glared.

"What?" Naruto's patience was worn and Sasuke glimpsed back up to him, his glare less of hate and more of frustration.

"Do you think we'll end up like those two?" Naruto's eyes widened and he blinked, nerves made his body shiver and try as he might there was no supressing the pink tint across his cheeks. Was Sasuke fully acknowledging them as teammates? Blue hues brightened just at the thought and he grinned sheepishly, "I hope not!" He announced and Sasuke froze.

"Sai seems like he just handles Juugo… I kind of don't want to just handle you, ya' know? I want us to work together and not seem like we hate each other!" Sasuke's gut twisted and he was reminded of the older crying Naruto that clung to him and buried his face in his shoulder. Suddenly his head was hot and light, Naruto grinning in front of him right here like he was it was making him sick. Images between this smiling fool compared to the broken elder switched back and forth in his mind and his body was sweating with guilt.

"Sasuke? Are you alright? Teme?"

_I need to… Get stronger Naruto. You're stronger than me right now if what you're saying is true… If that's the case then I want the future to change! _Yes, the future had to change. He couldn't let Naruto end up the way he was and if Sasuke changed it that meant that he'd end up stronger and it Naruto wouldn't be the one in danger.

"Naruto… I need to tell you something…" Sasuke whispered and the blonde froze up, his body stiff at the sudden seriousness.

"What are you talking about? You're starting to scare me, teme…" Naruto breathed. It took every bit of will in Naruto's body not to step back when Sasuke stepped forward.

"I don't want us to end up like that Naruto…" He muttered, getting closer to the blonde. Naruto's eyes shone, the blue pools mesmerising. Finally Sasuke reached out, taking Naruto's wrist and tugging it, closing the distance between them.

"Sasuke what're yo- Mmph!" Sasuke's lips closed over Naruto's and the blonde was silent, both unmoving, neither knowing how to kiss or even how to disconnect it. The world was still around them, both relishing in the contact; Sasuke's eyes were closed and after the initial wide eyed shocked, Naruto's slid closed as well.

And with met lips, a balance in the universe was shifted.

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**Hope you enjoyed! Please R&R!**


	11. Chapter 10

**Sorry I'm late, chapter was a bit hard to write! But here, get a lil' angst in ya'! Ahah!**

**Before the next chapter (which shoulder be up in a week or so, depends how motivated I am) there will be a SasuNaru oneshot posted. Just telling you all so you, yeah, know. Hah!**

**Anyway, on to the story!**

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_Timeless_

_by ferriswheel95_

Rays of sunshine pierced through the curtains that Kakashi conveniently pulled open when he left the apartment early that morning. They aimed and struck their target, a sleeping Sasuke. The raven flinched tiredly at first until finally his eyes parted to glare at (and hopefully destroy) whatever dared disturb his sleep, then he realised that destroying the sun would be a feat, even for him. Sitting up he pulled the blanket from his bare torso, feeling hot under the heat of the morning sun.

He rubbed his eyes groggily for a few moments then stood, he half expected to look over the back of the couch and see a sleeping Naruto (because not even a raging house fire could wake that boy, let alone morning sun) but felt his stomach flip when he realised he wasn't there and probably wouldn't be for the rest of their time in the past. Making his way to the bathroom, Sasuke couldn't shake the feeling that he felt… _Weird_ was the only way he could explain it.

The mirror above the basin was still slightly foggy from Kakashi's early shower but the middle was clear and reflected him, though the raven felt it was wrong. He seemed tanner then what he normally knew, his eyes were brighter and no bags hung below his tired eyes. He ran his hands roughly along either side of his face and then moved up to rake his fingers through his hair, trying to work out what was just so different, because he knew; he was absolutely positive that something was different!

"Huh?" He grunted when a mark on his neck caught his eye. He moved his shoulders and stared at the scar where the curse mark used to sit and where his creamy skin normally sat smooth and unmarred.

"What?.." His fingers touched the mark that wouldn't scratch, rub or peel off. His mind reeled through memories and thoughts as quickly as it could; he had to know how he got this! Maybe Kakashi snuck up and mutilated him in his sleep!

_Come on Sasuke; get a grip _his mind scolded and the raven let out a sigh, trying to be calm rather than panic. Though the panic soon won then intensified again when he realised a second abnormality; the summoning marks on his forearms where non-existent, completely vanished.

"What the fuck!" All composure broken and lost.

* * *

Naruto tied his headband tightly, pushing his golden bangs from his eyes. He adjusted it, and then fiddled with the zipper height of his jacket, then his pants hem... Then his hair again…

"Ugh! Stupid teme!" The young blonde flushed, rubbing his now heated cheeks and pacing back and forth in his small apartment. To say the kiss yesterday was unexpected was probably the biggest understatement of the year, no, the century! Though in all honesty, Naruto couldn't deny that he enjoyed it. He slowly ran the tips of his fingers along his lips, going even redder at the thought of the contact. His heart instantly skipped a beat, Sasuke looked so calm when he leaned in… His lips looked so soft and… Wait, did that clock say it was 9am?

"Ah! I'm gonna be late!" He rushed from his apartment, blushing once again, and probably not for the last time that day, at the thought of seeing Sasuke today. When he got to the bridge as usual he saw Sakura and Sasuke standing there, casually talking (the conversation seeming horribly one sided). Though Naruto didn't fell any jealousy, Sakura was his friend as well (even though she was pretty awful to him) and in a way he almost didn't think the kiss would change anything between the three of him. Actually, Naruto wasn't sure if he wanted it to, these two were his family; so what happened if his brother became something more. Flushing again Naruto finally ran up to the two.

"Good morning, Sakura-chan, teme!" He grinned. Sasuke glanced to him and couldn't help but offer the blonde a small smirk, it worked out well in the raven's favour and the blonde flushed. Sakura, unbeknownst to the interaction between the two, just turned and huffed, whining to Sasuke as usual.

"Why is he always late! I'm so sick of – Juugo-kun!"

_Juugo-kun..?_ Sasuke's mind wandered but then turned to follow Sakura's line of sight. She was the first to catch sight of the prac teacher, rushing towards the team. Sasuke frowned, wondering what was putting his older self in such a state that it would make him physically hurry and why he was here so early compared to Kakashi.

_Oh wait…_

Before the three could blink, Sasuke was lifted by his collar off the ground by the offending older raven.

"Juugo-kun!" Sakura yelled but no one paid attention or barely even heard her, too focused on the two ravens whose faces were now inches apart. Naruto stared wide eyed before he saw the anguish on Sasuke's face from being lifted so roughly and instantly his stomach was hot and his fists balled by their sides.

"What've you done?" The elder breathed and the young Uchiha flinched. His mouth was dry and his throat tight; he knew exactly what he'd done and even though he had no quarrels with admitting it, his throat constricted each time he even thought about saying it out loud.

"Let him go you asshole! Let Sasuke go!" A voice shrieked from the side and both necks craned to look at the blonde who was now rushing towards them, blue eyes flaring with intensity and protectiveness. Both Sasukes' were shocked at Naruto's loyalty; the elder remained unmoving, completely fixated on the commendable fire that shone in those azure hues. He was roughly brought to reality when a young fist was inches from breaking his mask and on reflex he brought his knee up to Naruto's stomach. The blonde coughed and his eyes squeezed shut on impact, Sasuke was dropped and lastly, after he fell - Naruto was caught by the elder.

"Stop it! Stop fighting!" Sakura called from the side lines, all of them could practically hear the tears in her tone and idly the older Sasuke wondered how a young girl who very clearly despised violence so much had become a Shinobi in the first place. His attention was drawn to the writhing blonde in his arms who was now struggling against the Uchiha's hold. He let the blonde go reluctantly and watched as he stumbled to his feet clutching his stomach. Maybe he'd over done it with the whole knee to the stomach thing. Young Sasuke was by his side in a second, helping him stand – then it dawned on him.

"Y-You…" The first and last time the famous Sasuke Uchiha will ever stumble over his words or be at a loss of them. The boys looked up and Sakura rushed over, helping on the other side of Naruto. Sasuke's eyes were stern and hard, he didn't regret his decision so why did the elder? Why did older Sasuke know that this was such a bad thing? More realisations thwacked his body and the older visibly trembled. Not only did their appearance change, but their power level, their abilities. Sasuke felt sick, his head light and he had to lean on the railing for support. If Sasuke really had... Done _that_ – then older Naruto was in so much danger right now.

"What's your problem!?" Naruto's voice cracked, he was still in pain but Sasuke could barely register his voice let alone what he was saying. His mind was too busy going through each and every possibility that Naruto could be going through right at this very moment.

_You've killed him… _His mind whispered and inside he knew he was right. He always knew this would happen, he always knew he would be the death of his ex-teammate but after imagining all the ways he could contribute, he never thought it'd be like this. Squeezing the railing tighter, with both hands now, he began to tremble – until he felt a hand on his shoulder. It was warm and large and he spun around, not sure if he was defensive or expecting. Kakashi stared at him, his one visible eye narrowed.

"What's going on?" His voice was deep and smooth and it eased his students. Sasuke's insistent trembling stopped and his head bowed before it raised again – even through the mask Kakashi could see Sasuke's rage.

"Naruto's dead!" He growled and said blonde froze with wide eyes. He ran his hands all over himself, starting to panic (because the way this guy acted creeped him out so much). Blinking for a while, he looked between Sasuke and Sakura.

"I-I'm not dead am I!?" He whined.

"Shut up idiot!" Sakura bit out, smacking him upside the back of his head. Naruto held his now sore head and opened his mouth to complain but Sasuke was quick to act, pressing his hand over the idiot's mouth before anything could fall from it. Naruto glared to the raven for a few moments before his eyes softened – there was no way he was ever going to be able to shake that kiss, he was doomed to forever blush. Sasuke's hand fell and he turned to the two elders, Kakashi seemed shock or even afraid.

"What are you talking about?" He dared to breath and the older Uchiha went stiff.

"They changed everything… Which means, his strength – he would be so much weaker if things didn't go _exactly _how they went… There's no way he could face that guy right now but he wouldn't know that so –"

"What are you guys on about!?" Naruto yelled, the birds in the nearby trees fleeing from the sudden noise. All looked to him but the blonde refused to cave under the pressure of the intensity of their stares, even Sasuke looked pained and worried. Sakura stood beside him, nodding in agreement; she wanted to know as well. The elder Sasuke supposed she deserved to, at the moment anyway. He held nothing for the older Sakura, but this one was utterly devoted to him and their team, not just one or the other. Though both Sasukes stood still, neither about to be the break the news, Kakashi noticed this and sighed in frustration before he reached out too quickly for the elder to notice and pulled away his mask. It fell and clattered against the ground, even rolling a little before it stopped completely still at the raven's feet. There was a duo of collective gasps as the older Uchiha glanced up, catching blue hues with his onyx ones.

"This is Sasuke from the future and he's here to protect you but… It's not working out so well" Kakashi mumbled, trying to sound light but coming off more like a nervous kid trying to tell his Mother a lie. The silent tension was thick as it fell over and settled on the group, no one moving – maybe not even breathing. Then finally, because he was always one for breaking tension…

Naruto passed out.

* * *

"Do we have any way of getting a hold of him?"

"No…"

"This is ridiculous! How could you let him just leave!?"

"Sasuke-kun…" So many voices, but he could recognise everyone.

"Older me is an idiot! An absolute idiot! How disappointing!"

"Disappointing is my younger self not having the brains to understand simple instructions!"

"Shut up! You didn't see what I saw!" That was definitely Sasuke, he sounded so angry, Naruto didn't even think he'd made him that angry before.

"Did I even think before I spoke!? You're infuriating!" Of course Sasuke would be maddest at himself. Wait… Sasuke, mad at _himself_… Naruto shifted in his bed uncomfortably.

"Hey, he's waking up!" Cobalt hues cracked open tiredly, blinking the drowsiness away for a few moments before they opened completely. He took in his surroundings, a dark room but he was comfortable with whatever he was laying on. He blinked again when an onslaught of faces broke through the darkness to hang over him, one face in particular made him freeze.

"Ah!" He sat up, knocking heads with the frowning younger Sasuke making him fall back onto the bed, holding his already aching head.

"Well that went well…" Kakashi mused, amused, but his amusement only made the elder Sasuke glare. He saw nothing funny with this matter; Naruto was missing, team 7 – which were never meant to find out of their secret – had found out, the future was already altered although Sasuke had no recollection of it altering, things were going completely wrong and Kakashi Hatake, was amused!? Naruto sat up again, calmer this time and the young Sasuke sat on the edge of the bed. Sakura checked his head for him then just stood calmly to the side, proper as usual in front of company. Although for Sasuke he didn't even want her company, let alone a fake one.

"W-What the hell happened? What the hell is going on!?" Naruto pointed a finger to the elder Uchiha, who simply rolled his eyes.

"You fainted" Sakura supplied and Naruto blushed, fisting the sheets in embarrassment. Passing out like a crushing girl, that was just so wrong!

"Because you saw me" Older Sasuke added and Naruto flushed an even brighter red. Crushing girl indeed. He glanced between his friends before shaking his head, a pained expression rested on his features.

"I don't understand…" He whined and the elder could only scoff.

"Of course you don't, you never do" He muttered. Naruto went red again, only this time he was angry; he hated being called an idiot.

"Look Naruto, I think we need to expl –"

"Fuck yeah you do!" The blonde interrupted Kakashi who paused for a few moments to let his student calm and when he saw Naruto let out his frustrations in a deep sigh he decided to continue.

"Sasuke was caught in a time travelling justu –"

"Who's?" Kakashi's eye twitched at the second interruption and young Sasuke caught his teacher's frustrations and if he was completely honest he was already getting tired of Naruto's interruptions.

"Just shut up and listen will you, idiot?" The raven offered and while Naruto flushed, puffing his cheeks out wanting to protest, his lips made a thin line and he didn't verbally protest, that was enough indication that he'd be silent for the rest of the explanation.

"There is a man that you were fighting in the future, he made the jutsu to come back to this time and kill you while you were weak since he couldn't defeat your future self. But you and Sasuke got caught in the rip and were brought here as well –", Kakashi paused, assessing Naruto's wide and disbelieving eyes for a few quick seconds before continuing. "They've… Or well, _you_, have been undercover as Juugo and Sai to protect you and the people close to in case the man came to kill you or them" at this Naruto gulped and couldn't bite his tongue any longer.

"Wait a second, where am I now then!?" He moaned and then hesitated. "Ah! Am I dead!?" He sprang from the bed and stumbled away from it for a few steps before falling into pacing.

"You went after Madara before you two changed the future" elder Sasuke growled, glaring between the two. Naruto flushed and looked at the younger Sasuke, blinking a few times, not missing the flush on his cheeks.

"W-Wait a second, do you mean –"

"You know exactly what I mean, _Naruto_" Sasuke snarled, venom practically dripping from his voice at Naruto's name. The blonde flinched and his eyebrows knitted together in confusion, why was Sasuke so mad at him? He didn't know he was doing anything wrong… Unless.

"Did", he turned to the young Sasuke, "you know?" his frown deepened when Sasuke glanced away. The raven could only nod and Naruto's stomach twisted. "I-I don't understand…" Naruto brought a hand to his throbbing head and then bit his lip in thought.

"You two…" Sakura breathed, stepping carefully between the two, "What happened?" elder Sasuke could only roll his eyes.

"Young me kissed Naruto" he offered and Sakura's emerald eyes widened dramatically and immediately you could see the heat build behind her them. Shaking her head she looked to Naruto, expression pleading for it not to be true and Naruto's gut twisted again apologetically.

"Sakura-chan…" He whispered, not knowing what to say further, what could he say? He was sorry? He wasn't. That he regretted it? He kind of didn't (except for the fact that it upset the entire fuckin' future's universe). That he wished it was her? At a time he thought that, but now…

"Sasuke… Why did you kiss me?" Naruto breathed, tearing his eyes away from the tears that pooled at the bottom of Sakura's shimmering, jade eyes. Sasuke stiffened and his fists curled in his lap, he forced himself to stare straight into Naruto's beautiful, confused hues.

"Because… I didn't want you to simply handle me. I want what you want…" Naruto froze, a part of him glad that the raven at least knew why he kissed him or even had a reason for it but he wasn't sure if it was a good reason and for a second he didn't understand before he remembered.

_Sai seems like he just handles Juugo… I kind of don't want to just handle you, ya' know? I want us to work together and not seem like we hate each other. _He had said that hadn't he? Now it was his turn for heat to pool behind his eyes, panic start to rise in his chest.

"W-What are we?" He turned to the older Uchiha, "what are we, team 7… What are we when we're older?" He breathed, shaky, but he had to know. If Sasuke was fazed by the question he didn't physically show it, as usual he was cold and inert.

Then Naruto heard what he was dreading, "nothing".

His body shook and the young blonde found himself reaching for the bed and having to sit, he pressed his face in his hands and hunched over. Kakashi's head lowered; afraid that was the case ever since he knew the elder two to be his students.

"Then what happened?" Sakura's voice found strength, she was sad and dejected but she was still strong, always was. Sasuke shifted in his spot, not sure if telling them was the wisest of decisions but hey, who cared anymore! His younger self already made out with the idiot!

"I left" he breathed and now it was young Sasuke's turn to tremble. Onyx eyes turned to meet the same pair, wide with shock and guilt.

_My fault… _Both minds whispered.

"You left what!? The team!?" Naruto raged, standing with fists by his sides and hot, wet eyes – he wasn't ashamed to have tears, it proved how much team 7 meant to him.

"Konoha…" Sasuke drawled, not completely uncaring but rather defensive. The room became cold with the revelation of truth and now Sakura found herself having to sit, taking Naruto's place on the edge of the bed. Younger Sasuke noticed her trembling and he felt guilt. An odd, sickening guilt rise further in his stomach – his counterpart detected this and he felt a rage build in him.

"Oh no, I wouldn't feel bad for her" Sasuke bit out and the four froze, turning to the two sitting on the bed. Young Sasuke frowned deeply, his expression dark while Sakura just blinked with teary eyes, some falling from their pools and down her face. Her head bowed so her pink locks hid her face, her fists balled in her lap and her tears fell one by one on them.

"I-I always thought…" She trembled, "that w-we'd a-always…" But she couldn't get any further, her persistent sobbing cancelling out whatever it was she wanted to say. Naruto felt his entire being overcome with anger and he lashed out, grabbing the green Jonin vest on Sasuke and shaking him.

"Why!? Why would you do this!?" He cried, uncaring of the tears falling. "I-I mean, we only just saved each other…" He breathed, thinking back to Haku and then looking to the young Sasuke. The Uchiha looked upset as well, but he wasn't going to cry like his teammates. The elder grabbed Naruto's wrists and pulled him from his vest, not entirely roughly but still compellingly.

"Look, things change" he grunted lowly, annoyed by this conversation already; though now it was Sasuke's turn to be defensive.

"That's not true, the older Naruto still considers you a teammate, you didn't see him like I did!" He yelled, standing and stalking towards his elder, he pulled Naruto by the wrist and positioned him behind him – protective of the blonde when it came to his elder self.

"It doesn't matter what Naruto thinks…" He snorted again but he regretted it when he held innocent cobalt orbs darkened with hurt; that wasn't what he meant. It did matter what Naruto thought, after all he was and still is considered one of the greatest heroes of all time. It was just, what Naruto thought and what Sasuke thought were two completely opposite things and while Naruto's thoughts mattered Sasuke never felt the need to consider them, certainly not since he left the blonde hurt and soaking at the valley of end and at least not until now where the older Naruto seemed to be calling all the shots.

"Look… I think we all need to stop and calm down" Kakashi muttered, finally stepping when he saw this was going nowhere in or even near a productive direction. Sasuke grit his teeth, angry at himself and the heartbreaking information but as he was told, he shut his mouth. Turning, he took Naruto by the hand and began dragging; Naruto in point took Sakura's wrist and the three left one after the other, the door slamming loudly behind them as if it was livid as well. Silence over took the two that stood alone in the room, neither moving or wanting anymore questions to be asked or answered, so quiet was all they had left and between them, it was comfortable. At least, at the moment.

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**Thankyou for reading! Please R&R, reviews motivate me to write faster!**


	12. Chapter 11

**Hey guys, some good news - I'm on holidays soon, which means no school... Which means a tremendously greater amount of time to write some more chapters for this. **

**I feel guilty because to begin with I originally said this would only be ten chapters long... Then I got carried away and I'm starting to realise it's going to be a fair bit more. I'm going to say it will finish around 17 chapters... Sorry if I mislead anyone! Well heres a bit of action for everyone and probably something lots of people were hoping to see happen!**

**Enjoy.**

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_Timeless_

_By ferriswheel95_

Naruto sat in the shade at the foot of a large oak tree trunk, like the ones that surrounded the outskirts of Konoha. Breathing in, he felt his body ache as he finally began to relax. He had been so tense since he found out the truth, every muscle in his body tight with uneasiness and anxiety -moreover, grief. He had darted from his team once they were outside in the fresh air of the hot afternoon, rather than the stuffy confinements of that room, smothered by the truth. Only now, when his team had just finally found him and approached him, was he feeling more peaceful. Maybe it was all just a bad dream and he was going to wake up at any second, then he'd realise he and Sasuke would be a team forever and would always be friends – maybe even something more. His eyes clenched shut to repress the blush at the thought.

"Of course you'd come here, idiot…" Sasuke breathed carefully as he bent down in front of the obviously uncomfortable blonde. Naruto glanced around; spotting the three stumps a fair way across from him in the middle of the clearing. He shrugged.

"I guess I just want to keep all the good memories… Before I have to live the bad" He whispered as Sasuke made himself comfortable beside him. Sakura stood, leaning against the trunk and gazing to the sky through the lush tops of the trees that surrounded. A hawk flew above, circling them and always being one of the wiser members of the team; she knew it was the Hokage keeping an eye on them. She sighed and slid down the trunk to sit like Naruto.

"I can't believe this is real…" She pressed her chin into her knees and wrapped her arms around them. Naruto's eyes slid closed again, this time gentler, as he thought of the look in the older Sasuke's eyes. He could see past the hate of the Uchiha (although he always felt he could, even now) and saw the soft expression that lay in the onyx depths, Sasuke wanted forgiveness, Naruto could tell. After all, his older self could handle Sasuke so well.

"Who thought the idiot would ever be strong enough to make such a powerful enemy…" Sasuke chimed, trying to lighten the situation. He was entirely uncomfortable with Naruto's unusual gloomy mood and he wasn't going to simply put up with it. When an Uchiha didn't want to feel something, then he damn well wouldn't. Sakura giggled, feeling light at the joke but her mood even better because Sasuke cared enough to make it.

"He's right you know Naruto" She smiled and stood, standing in front of the blonde and Sasuke did the same. Naruto lifted his head, blue eyes gazing expectedly at the figures above him. Sakura had a warm smile and while Sasuke wasn't comfortable with that much affection just yet, his emotionless features were lighter and that was enough to comfort Naruto. The blonde pushed himself up, his usual wide grin gracing and lifting his face.

"Shut up! I'm super strong, even now! I'm gonna ace the Chunin Exam!" Suddenly Naruto stopped, his features froze and Sasuke's brows knitted together in worry.

"Naruto?" Sakura mumbled, voicing Sasuke's concern.

"What if we don't make it to the Chunin Exam?" He whispered and suddenly the mood was low again, each looking to the ground or anywhere other than their teammate's dejected expressions. Sakura kicked the dirt nervously and offered a small smile.

"I'm sure we will…" She muttered and Sasuke could only roll his eyes at her optimism, he was starting to realise that any hopes they had for their future were dismal and insignificant. The hawk that flew above squawked once loudly, it's screech echoing amongst the clouds before it flapped it's strong wings and headed back for the Hokage's tower. Naruto gazed up longingly at the care free creature as it disappeared over then below the tree tops towards the village.

"What's with the long faces?" A rough voice called and team 7 turned to the approaching friend. Kiba grinned with Hinata and Shino either side of him, Akamaru tucked away safely in his jacket. Naruto puffed out his cheeks; the blonde was defensive around this guy, probably because their flashy personalities clashed so easily. Both teams stepped forward so they were closer; Sasuke and Kiba being the heads between two teams though neither were entirely bothered by the other's presence.

"No reason" Sakura sighed from the side, suddenly crestfallen again as she looked to the ground but it was Naruto's pained expression that worried the ever soft voiced Hinata. She twiddled her fingers and blushed as she tried to will herself to comfort Naruto or at least ask what was bothering him in hopes to talk about it. Kiba scratched the back of his head and shrugged, if they didn't want to talk about it, he wasn't going to press it.

"What're you guys doing here anyway?" Naruto grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest and Kiba glared.

"Hey! It's a public training ground!" The brunette bit back.

"We were told to come here…" Shino added more level headedly and Sasuke's eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"By who?" The young Uchiha pressed as his eyes started to dart around the field warily. Kiba shuffled a little because of Sasuke's sudden on edge attitude.

"That Sai guy" He supplied and the team went still, their eyes wide.

"Us too, what a drag…" Another lazy voice mumbled from the side and the two teams looked to see an approaching Ino, Shikamaru and chip eating Chouji. Naruto stumbled over his words for a few moments, mostly because he was at a loss for them.

"Why?!" Sakura shouted and made everyone but her teammates flinch, probably because they didn't see a need for the sudden alertness. Shikamaru shrugged and so did Kiba, they weren't told why only to come and too be honest, neither team had thought to do so.

"Well I assumed it was for training" Chouji munched casually, his team and Kiba's not seeing a reason for team 7's sudden uneasiness.

"If it's for training then I don't see a reason for us to be here with you brats…" Sasuke growled low in his throat when he heard a third voice and turned seeing another oncoming team and not one he particularly wanted to see again outside of the arena. Temari, Gaara and Kankuro stood, each looking bored.

"He told you to come to?" Naruto grit out through his teeth and his trembling fists clenched. Gaara looked angry, as if he had been deceived.

"Yeah…" Temari inspected her nails, uninterested. "We thought it was some sort of challenge but instead it's some sort of boring gathering" she sighed disappointedly.

_How the hell do I know these people in the future?! _Naruto's thoughts bounced loudly inside his head, instantly giving him a head ache. He looked to the ground, his blue hues desperate for an answer.

"Naruto…" Sakura sensed Naruto's agitation, reaching out for the blonde's shoulder but he instantly flinched away and stumbled back. Sasuke frowned and stepped forward towards Naruto but he wasn't sure if the look in Naruto's eyes was anxiety or composure.

"Why are you guys so jumpy?" Ino scowled at the very obviously nervous team. The three looked up and to those around them, every single expression prying for answers and Sasuke's stomach twisted – was it his place to give those answers?

"Sai is me!" Nope, apparently it was Naruto's.

"Naruto! Shut up!" Sakura scolded, she took a livid step forward but the shaky blonde only stumbled back from her and further away from away from everyone.

"What're you going on about? God you're so weird!" Ino's voice was a rough as Sakura's and laced with irritation but then Sasuke stepped forward, taking the blonde's shoulders and staring intently into his eyes. His lips pursed in thought and his brows were knitted together, but despite the serious expression Naruto couldn't help but blush.

"Calm down idiot…" He whispered only for Naruto. The trembling stopped and Naruto's shoulders slumped under Sasuke's grip.

"Sasuke-kun?" Ino called softly from behind him and he turned to the others but keeping one hand securely on Naruto's shoulder. He took in a deep breath and readied himself for the biggest and most absurd explanation of his life.

* * *

"I knew it! I fucking knew it!"

"Oh come on Kiba! Are you seriously beliving this!?" Ino snapped at the pacing dog boy who was glaring at the ground, Akamaru yapping at him every time he stepped past the puppy. Sasuke's enlightenment of the situation had gone down well – at first. First there was laughter, next denial and now currently in the all-out irrational stage.

"I could smell it… The scents, they were a little different – like they were kind of off… But I knew they were the same!" He stopped and glared at Sasuke and Naruto. Kankuro stepped forward now, having enough of listening to these brat's outrageous stories.

"Look, you guys can all sit around and be… Whatever it is you're being but we're leaving. Right guys?" He turned to him teammates, an approving nod from Temari but unexpectedly an impassive glare from his younger brother and Kankuro knew that meant one thing. This insane story interested the red head. "Okay… Maybe not?" He scratched the back of his neck nervously.

"I knew…" Shikamaru grumbled from the side line. Everyone turned to the secret genius and he suddenly felt small and nervous under their stares. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and sighed dejectedly. "Well that's to say, I knew something was up with those other two" He offered and Sasuke frowned.

_How did he catch on so easily when even I took my time to figure it out? _He wondered but couldn't think any more of it when Ino stepped in again.

"Okay! Hang on! Say we believe this whole… Future thing –" She rolled her eyes, "why on the hell would Naruto call us all here? And same with these guys! We don't even know them and sorry to break it to you Naruto but we aren't exactly close." She crossed her arms and Naruto shifted a little nervously, he didn't know either. His elder self felt like an entirely different person and completely unattainable.

"Because he's protecting us and these guys might end up being our friends!" Sakura was defensive now, this was her teammate and future Ino was talking about.

"Doubt that" Temari clipped and earned herself a glare from the pinkette.

"Your chakras were the same, but not identical…" Gaara's deep voice finally made itself known and he naturally captured every one's full attention. Sasuke was instantly on edge, so was Naruto.

"So?" The blonde grit out through his teeth and Gaara glared.

"So he's saying that I'm way stronger!" A foreign rough voice called and for a moment no one could see the culprit, but that was until an elder Naruto emerged from the trees, face still covered by the fox mask but clad in his usual orange jumpsuit.

"You…" Sasuke breathed and the older Naruto chuckled, scratching the back of his head.

"Hey, I thought we made it clear not to tell anyone?" He grinned at the young raven from behind the mask and Sasuke scoffed.

"Wrong Uchiha, the older me blew it with the idiot… Ah – well you…" Naruto looked around at everyone, sighing contently when he saw that they all came. This meant he could keep an eye on them for a little while. He glanced to Gaara and smiled sadly; he was going to be tricky to deal with.

"Wait… Is it really you Naruto?" Sakura ran towards the elder and gazed up at him expectedly and then the younger Naruto ran to join her; he wanted to see how handsome his future self was after all. Then before Naruto knew it, the whole group was crowded around him, eyes sparkling with curiosity (well all except the sand siblings who Naruto was sure were content with seeing from afar).

"Yeah…" He breathed, reaching up and untying the mask before slipping it off. "It's me" he grinned and each of the Genin's eyes widened at the revelation. His grin became sheepish and he scratched the back of his neck nervously again out of habit.

"You all look so surprised…" He grunted and Sakura blushed before glancing away.

"Well you look so grown up…" Both blondes blushed at her shy words and the elder stepped away from the group.

"Why did you bring us all here?" Gaara called from behind the group and Naruto's features softened sadly. It hurt to see the angry Gaara again but it reminded him of how far the red head has come to be the incredible person he is today. Naruto stepped through the others and stood in front of Gaara.

"Because you're all my important people and I have to protect you no matter what" He smiled lightly and Gaara's glare only hardened.

"Sasuke said you were gone, going after that guy! What happened!?" Younger Naruto pressed and the elder stiffened.

"I didn't find him…" He whispered, glaring at the ground before looking up to everyone. "But I know he won't take much longer to seek me out, so I just need to keep an eye on you guys for a while" he said but there was a disapproving sneer.

"Look, personally I think you're either all nuts or this is a bad dream" Temari snapped and Kankuro nodded in agreement, even Gaara's eyes shone with approval. "So if you don't mind, we're just going to head…" The three turned and started to leave but Naruto hurried to block their path.

"You can't! You don't understand the severity of the situation!" He pleaded but they just side stepped him.

"I'll make you stay!" At that, everyone froze. Suddenly the entire group was on edge to see just how Naruto was going to back up his threat; they'd all see some of Sasuke's moves but none of Naruto's – except the idiot fall out of a tree.

Temari glanced back over her shoulder, "oh yeah? Like you could!" She pulled at the top of her fan and flung it over her shoulder, imbedding it into the ground.

"Temari, we still have the Chunin exams, don't go giving yourself away…" Gaara was calm as usual but the chill in his voice made Temari shiver.

"But –"

"Yeah that's right, so just put it away and be good little Genin and stay right here" Naruto grinned cockily and Gaara's glared settled on the blonde making him stop grinning.

"You're annoying" he bit out and Naruto only laughed loudly.

"Yeah, yeah, alright! Now can you please not put up a fight?" He asked what he thought was ever so politely but the red head just ignored him, turning again and heading off with the other two.

"Hey! Gaara! I don't want to fight you!" He called but they didn't stop this time. Naruto balled his fists by his sides before finally he decided to take action. No one was taking him seriously but he was sure they probably all thought Sasuke was like a powerful god.

_Don't let jealousy make you get carried away_… His mind soothed and Naruto nodded. Just a little action, not much… Not a lot of flaunting – just a little.

"Hey!" He yelled again but this time a spark of chakra pulsed suddenly from the blonde's body and even the others (who weren't exactly capable of reading chakra yet) could feel the energy. This made the team stop and the two elder siblings glanced over their shoulders worriedly.

"Look –" Naruto's voice was lower now, less friendly. "Even if you did try to fight me I know all your moves perfectly so I'd already have an advantage. So can you just stay!.. Please, Gaara" his voice softened at the end and it alarmed Gaara, the red head turned and stared at the blonde; his previous chakra outburst was completely gone now and instead of the expected determined expression his features were sad and pleading. The red head voiced no opinion but he didn't move any further, a good sign that he would stay. Naruto let out a shaky breathe before grinning.

"Awesome, now guys I need you too – Ah!" Naruto stumbled to the ground when he felt a great force assault him from behind and straight into the small of his back. He fell to his hands and knees but pushed himself up to flip and face the attacker – he was fully prepared to fight Tobi but he didn't expect him to come so soo –

"You idiot!" Okay, no Tobi. Something worse – a very angry looking older Sasuke. He stood there in his usual attire as well, open shirt and strapped Katana, his face was red and his eyes looked as though they wanted to be.

"Holy shit… Is that..?" Kiba muttered from the side, eyes wide like the others and mouth agape.

"It really is you two" Ino breathed, completely taken by the even cooler looking older Sasuke. The young one rolled his eyes, not even the slightest bit impressed.

"We told you!" Young Naruto snapped to the other blonde before looking back to the elder two.

"Hey, come on Sasuke. No need for names…" Naruto put his hands up defensively, trying to laughing but apparently the Uchiha was finding absolutely nothing amusing about the situation.

"Shut up! You have no idea do you!? I thought you were dead because these idiots –" he motioned to their younger selves, "went and changed the future!" Naruto blinked for a few moments and glanced to his counterpart before turning back to Sasuke, a serious expression on his face.

"I know, I felt it and by the looks of it, you have too" Naruto whispered looking down. "Your summon mark things are gone" Sasuke nodded and he felt his mouth open to ask what had happened to Naruto but it clicked shut, he wouldn't let his curiosity get the better of him and he wouldn't give Naruto the chance to mistake it for compassion.

"Kurama won't talk to me…" The blonde whispered finally. When he first realised that the demon was silent he had put it off to the fox having a headache or being in a bad mood or something. Then it went on longer and longer and Naruto knew something was up, it was like his friend wasn't even there anymore. Sasuke stiffened and he started pacing.

"That means…"

"We're in trouble… Yeah…" Naruto finished for him but Sasuke stopped and glared.

"Don't act like you're the only one who can fight him…" Sasuke bit out defensively and Naruto's shoulders squared.

"Sasuke…" He tried but was interrupted when his younger self stepped forward.

"We'll all fight him! Together!" The elder Sasuke scoffed and Naruto spun around to glare at him. "Don't laugh! We can! He can't possibly be strong enough to take us all on at once!" He yelled.

"What makes you think we'll fight with you?" Temari grumbled from the side and Naruto glared at her as well.

"Because this is your future on the line as well!" He snapped.

"Listen, you don't understand how strong this guy is…" Sasuke grunted and ran a frustrated hand through his hair and younger Naruto turned to look at him, eyes shimmering with hope. It was disgusting.

"But he couldn't possibly…" He started to whisper but was cut short when the ground beneath him began crumbling and giving away right out from underneath him. He fell over the way ward pieces of Earth and stumbled to find flat and stable land. Finally everything stopped rumbling and he looked up to see the culprit. Naruto stood there, hunched over and fist to the ground.

"What the…" Sakura breathed as the elder blonde straightened himself up.

"Naruto! What are you doing?!" The older Sasuke snapped as he stormed over to the blonde but stopped when Naruto looked up, eyes yellow and features strong.

"What are you…" He breathed before Naruto directed his intense gaze to those around him, each flinching every time the blonde looked their way.

"They're not going to believe the strength of that guy until we show them. So I'm going to show them, all of you against me." He grinned and elder Sasuke glared.

"Naruto, what are you thinking?" He grit out and took another angry step forward. Naruto glimpsed to him, the grin fading and replaced with a hard determined stare.

"I'm thinking that you should watch your back…" He muttered and instantly Sasuke spun, countering a kunai attack from a shadow clone that stood behind.

"Hey!" He snapped when all the weapons fell to the ground after being countered, clinking together as they did so. He turned back to glare at the real Naruto but there was no point; the idiot was too smug and pleased with himself to even begin thinking about dismissing this ridiculous idea. The raven sighed.

"Well… You heard the guy" He grunted and stepped back. He wasn't getting involved in this; it would definitely escalade to something far out of this time's capability to control. The younger members all looked to each other, some looking sickly nervous while others were more than excited to start. Even Gaara had a glint to his jade eyes that could only be described as expectancy.

"Go!"

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**Hope you enjoyed! Stay tuned! Please R&R!**


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